What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
by ichiwings
Summary: Harry is about to meet his godfather, the nefarious criminal Sirius Black who betrayed his parents and killed a street full of muggles. But Harry is about to find out just how much he's been told are lies. Takes Place at the end of POA AU, manipulative!Dumbledore, there is mentions of Slash. Rating may go up. The first 4-5 chapters are under being rewritten. The first is up!
1. Chapter 1

**~AN I HAVE REDONE THIS CHAPTER! There will be some revisions to this story! The first couple chapters will heavily barrow at points from the book, which is intentional. So don't freak out if you notice when the writing style changes a bit or if characters will become somewhat OC. Some characters will be OC because they don't show up much in cannon. I will try and keep major characters as close to thier personalities as I can while changing some past events. Also this is not betad. All mistakes are my own. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is some plot bunnies and any original characters that may pop up. It is likely there will be minor original characters. Also I will not tell you the parings in advance because it will ruin some plot twists. Enjoy!**

Harry Potter found himself in the Shrieking Shack with his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, and an escaped convict who also happened to be his godfather, Sirius Black.

Remus Lupin and Sirius Black had just explained what had happened one full moon night in their sixth year. The story caused Harry to be lost in thought for a moment.

"So that's why he hates you so much." said Harry understanding his potions professor a little more than he had that morning.

"Yes." came a deep Baritone in the back of the room before yelling "Expelliarmus!". Everyone's wands rushed to where the voice had been.

Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Harry's mouth fell open as he watched Severus Snape, the Potions professor appear holding everyone's wands.

"I say I am not very surprised by all of this." The potions professor smirked as he looked around.

"I can imaged all of you are wondering how I found you" he said. "I went to your office, Lupin because you forgot to take your potion tonight. I found your office empty of any person, however, lying on your desk was a certain map. One look and I knew exactly where you were off to."

"Severus, you're making a mistake," replied Lupin. " Sirius is not here to kill Harry!"

"I wonder how Dumbledore will take the news. He was quite convinced you were wouldn't do anything rash." replied Snape almost as if he hadn't heard Lupin.

"Severus" said Lupin softly. "Please listen!"

BANG! Thin, snake like cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles. The sudden action caused the man to fall to the floor, unable to move. Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me an explanation."

Black was holding his breath while looking Snape in the eye. "The rat is Pettigrew."

"What rat?" demanded Snape narrowing his eyes.

"The one over there with the boy on the bed." Replied Black.

Snape's eyes moved toward Ron, to Scappers, and back to Sirius Black. "You are sure?" he asked without hiding his uncertainty. Black nodded.

"You're saying out of the billions of rats in Britain alone, you are sure this particular one is Peter Pettigrew? That there is not the slightest change it may just be a normal rat?" scoffed Professor Snape.

Sirius Black glared at the man in front of him. "I know this rat is Pettigrew!"

Snape glared back at Black "After all the havoc and terror you've caused this past year you had better do more than hope that this rat is indeed whom you say it is."

Severus Snape lowered his wand and turned to Lupin. "And you Lupin, I am going to unbind you on the condition that you don't do anything particularly stupid."

Lupin nodded and Snape unbound him. Snape's wand was kept pointed at the werewolf as he got to his feet.

At this point the Harry, Ron, and Hermione were greatly confused.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" yelled Harry.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Harry. "What is going on? How am I to believe that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew?"

"Potter has a point." said Snape looked expectantly at Lupin.

Lupin looked at Ron. "Ron, give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.

"You can't be trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? You do know how mental that sounds right?" Ron said determined.

Ron looked between all of the adults. Not finding what he was looking for he turned to Harry and Hermione.

Ron gave up and said "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat, there are millions of rats, like Snape said, how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"This is indeed a fair question," said Snape, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you manage to find out where he was? If he is indeed Pettigrew."

Black looked around the room. He reached inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper. He handed it to Lupin who smoothed it out and held it up.

Harry looked at it. It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get that?" asked Ron.

"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on the boy's shoulder. I knew who it was the moment I looked at him. I have seen him transform countless times. When I read the caption I learned the boy went to Hogwarts. To where Harry was..."

Harry was staring at the man. Was he hearing things or did he sound protective? Harry was broke out of his thoughts by Lupin.

"His front paw..." whispered Lupin.

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," pointed out Black.

"It all fits" Lupin breathed. "he must have cut it off himself."

"Just before he transformed," confirmed Black.

"When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself before taking off down into the sewer with the other rats." Black was snarling by the end of the story.

"But, how does that prove anything?" Ron demanded.

"The biggest bit of Pettigrew they found was his finger." Snape said solemnly.

All three children looked at the two men like they were crazy.

"Just because Scabbers' toe is missing doesn't mean he is Pettigrew even if he was missing the same finger. For all you know he could have gotten in a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages!" declared Ron.

"Let me guess, for twelve years? Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long? And tell me, when did he start looking so ill?" countered Lupin.

Ron sputtered. "He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron defended again, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

"No..." everyone turned to look at Hermione who had spoke. "He was ill before that. Remember having the tonic at the Leaky Cauldron?"

Ron paled and Harry took in a breath. Could it really be true?

"The cat isn't mad either. He's smart. He recognizes animagi. He's been helping me. He tried to get peter for me. When he couldn't he helped me get into the Gryffindor Tower by stealing the passwords for me. He told me he got it from a boy's bedside table. Peter must have figured it out and ran for it. According to the cat, Crookshanks I think you said his name was, there was blood and fur on the sheets. Probably faking his death again. Well you know, why stop doing something when it works so well. " Black mused.

"And now you've come to finish him off!" interjected Harry.

"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should turn you in!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," Lupin tried to intervene, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down. We were all wrong, everyone. Peter betrayed your mother and father. Sirius tracked Peter down! Peter had everyone fooled!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

"Harry... I as good as killed them," he confessed. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me. I was so sure... I'm to blame, I know it...The night they died I had a bad feeling and decided to go check up on your parents' house. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies . . . I realized what Peter must've done . . . what I'd done. . . ."

His voice broke. He turned away.

"Enough of this," said Snape, "This all sounds so absurd but if it is true, then there's one certain way to prove what really happened." Snape looked at Lupin and Black.

"Ron, give me that rat." Said Lupin.

Ron looked at the rat unsure. "What if he isn't Pettigrew?""

Lupin looked Ron in the eyes. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated. He looked from Scabbers to Lupin and back to Scabbers. He held the rat out for Lupin to grab.

Lupin took the rat and looked at Sirius.

"Ready?" asked Lupin.

"Oh you have no idea." replied Black who had ahold of one of the children's wands.

"Together?" Black asked looking at Lupin and Snape.

Both men nodded. The children watched as Lupin held Scabbers up tightly. All three men had their wands pointed straight at the rat.

"On the count of three. One — two —THREE!"

All at once a flash of blue-white light burst from the wands and hit the rat. A few seconds later the rat had become a short, tattered looking man, standing where Scabbers had been.

Harry blinked. He couldn't believe it.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly "Long time, no see."

Pettigrew looked at all three men nervously. "My...my friends." he stuttered.

Black's wand arm rose, but Snape seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look. Lupin turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.

"We've been talking about you Peter and some other things. I'm not sure if you heard us or not and wanted your point of view on the events." said Lupin implying a great deal to the rat like man.

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, "you can't believe him! He tried to kill me! He's been driven crazy from Azkaban! He's lying!"

"Really." Lupin replied more coldly. "Then you wouldn't mind telling us your side of the st..."

"He's come to try and kill me again! Just like Lily and James!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing.

"No one is killing anyone until we've sorted a few things out." stated Lupin.

Pettigrew blinked. "There is nothing to sort out! He's a murderer and can't be trusted! I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

Snape sneered at the man. "You mean to tell me that you knew Black was going to break out of Azkaban?"

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "So what you are telling us Pettigrew is that you have been waiting for twelve years for a man to break out of Azkaban, when nobody has ever done it before, and you never once told anyone? Not to mention the faking your own death. How exactly do you justify that stint?"

"I have to say Peter, I also would like to know why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat." said Lupin evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" insisted Pettigrew. "I knew that when everyone heard what happened then Voldemort's supporters would come after me! I put one of their best men in Azkaban, the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's growled at the smaller man, sounding suddenly like the bear sized dog he could turn into. "How dare you, I know who you are working for, I know what really happened that night."

"W...what are you talking about?" stuttered Peter.

"I'm talking about Dumbledore, Peter. He's not who he lets people think he is." ground out Black. He looked about ready to rip Pettigrew to shreds.

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius." muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. He looked to be close to a panic attack.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Dumbledore. You messed up his plans when you got me arrested. Why do you think I went to Azkaban without a trial? He had to throw away what he thought was a powerful pawn. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter. He thinks you're dead, or you'd have to answer to him."

"Don't know what you're talking about!," said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. "You don't believe this...this madness"

"You must be mad!" exclaimed Harry, "Dumbledore couldn't be like that! He has never done anything to hurt me or anyone else!"

"He's right Sirius, what kind of proof do you have about Dumbledore?" Lupin questioned looking at the escaped convict, now with concern and uncertainty in his eyes.

Sirius was looking down at the ground. He took a deep breath and looked up and into Harry's eyes.

"I cannot give you any physical proof right now..." started Black.

"How do you expect anyone here to believe you if you do not have any proof!" exclaimed Harry.

"Harry listen!" begged Black.

"NO! JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT SCABBERS BEING PETER PETTIGREW DOESN'T MEAN YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT DUMBLEDORE!" Roared Harry.

"There! See! Even Harry sees the madness in this!" said Pettigrew frantically who then turned and reached toward Harry.

"Don't touch me! I don't trust you either!" Harry sneered at the rat-like man who flinched away. "And you! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PU_"

"HARRY!" shouted Lupin, "I know you are upset but I would like to hear what he has to say." The werewolf looked over to the excepted convict.

"Black! I believe you said you had some sort of evidence!" Snape said sharply.

"There is a book. It was a diary of shorts. Had all kinds of wild things in it. There were things about getting laws passed, magical creature blood, Grindelwald, Tom Riddle, something about his sister… the point is he is not as forgiving, open minded or kind as he seems." rattled Black.

"You have the book?" asked Lupin.

"No. It's in a Vault in Gringotts." replied Black.

"So when we get out of here you can show us this book?" asked Harry.

"No, it is actually not in a Vault I can get into." the man replied ruefully.

"So we are just supposed to believe you cannot prove that it exists?" Hermione interjected.

"Listen, I didn't want to believe it either. I thought that maybe it had been a mistake. A joke! When I found it, I showed it to James to get his opinion. He seemed to think it was a possibility. I warned him not to get in over his head. Then one thing lead to another…Dumbledore came to see me shortly after my imprisonment in Azkaban. He started saying how he was trying to get me a trial that he believed I didn't have anything to do with it. Said something about how cruel Voldemort was. I called him out on it. See Voldemort couldn't have done it because he was with me and several other people before I left to check on Peter..."

"YOU WERE WITH VOLDEMORT!" screamed Harry in outrage.

"Harry, listen!" Black was pleading at this point.

"NO! I..."

"POTTER!" shouted Snape, "I would like to hear the rest of this if you don't mind."

Harry stopped yelling but was glaring at the Potions Master.

"Well," continued Sirius Black, "from there he got this strange look in his eyes I had never seen. Said that I knew too much, then something about tainted blood, and said I belonged where I ended up. It was hard for me to wrap my head around what he was saying. He shook his head, said it was a shame to lose such a powerful pawn. He then turned on his heel and walked away. I haven't seen the man since."

"But…that doesn't make any sense. He wouldn't do that!" Harry just couldn't believe any of this. It couldn't be true!

"Then think about this. If he was what you think he is then why would he leave you with your aunt and uncle, Harry?"

"They are my only living relatives!" Harry defended.

"Harry, everyone who knew Lilly well knew that her sister and her sister's husband hated magic and anything to do with magic." explained Sirius.

"But…that wouldn't override that his relative would get custody." Hermione put in.

"No, but his parent's will would. Harry, I can guarantee you that if you were to go to Gringotts and get to look at your parent's will, you would find that it was specifically stated that you were not to go them if anything were to happen to you." Black promised.

"How do you know that?" Harry asked. Could it be true? Harry was not sure.

"I was one of the people who signed it as a witness." Harry looked down at his feet and was quite.

"Harry, he is doing to you what he was doing to Tom Riddle when he was in school." Black told him quietly.

Harry looked up quickly into Sirius's eyes. "How do you know his real name?"

"I told you I was with him the night everything went down. He's a friend of sorts. I can promise you that everything I have told you is so." Black desperately reasoned with the boy.

Harry took in a breath. There seemed to be a possibility that it was true but there just wasn't any solid proof. "I'm sorry but I'm going to need more proof than your word."

Sirius Black looked down, took a deep breath and looked at Harry. "I will offer up my memory."

"How?" asked Harry.

"You will find, Mr. Potter that a pensive will work, that is unless you are skilled at legitimacy." Suggested Snape.

Harry looked into Sirius Black's eyes. Something in them told him he wasn't lying, or at least didn't think he was. If all he said was true then….

"Fine, I believe you for now but I insist on physical proof when we get back to the castle."

**Will Sirius get cleared or will Peter run away? Is Sirius telling the truth? What effects does Snape being awake while in the shack have? R and R! Input welcome! Feel free to make suggestions or say what you would like to happen in the story. Pairing suggestions are also welcome. **


	2. Chapter 2

**~AN THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN CHANGED! It is the original 2-4th chapters put together. I also altered it. It does heavily barrow at points from the book, which is intentional. I may alter it some more to make it more my own. So don't freak out if you notice when the writing style changes. The next chapter or two will probably be revised too. Also this is not betad. All mistakes are my own. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is some plot bunnies and any OC characters that may pop up (I don't have plans for any but sometimes plans changes). Also I will not tell you the parings in advance because it will ruin some plot twists. Enjoy!**

Harry felt really odd as they all exited the tunnel that came out from under the Whomping Willow. There was a stiff but determined air about everyone except Pettigrew, who had been nothing but nervous and shifty the entire time. Harry wondered if Crookshanks was more than just half kneazle sometimes as he and everyone else followed the cat. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron were directly behind the cat. The three of them walked awkwardly due to Ron's broken leg and being attached to one another. Lupin still had his wand pointed at Pettigrew. Next came Professor Snape, Black, Harry and then Hermione. Harry noticed a strange and tense air around Snape and Black.

The only sound being made was footsteps as they had traveled and exited the tunnel.

A couple steps out of the tunnel Black turned to Harry. "You know what this will mean? Turning Pettigrew in?" he asked Harry.

Harry blinked at the man and grinned. "You're free."

"Yes." said Black. He hesitated. "I'm not sure if anyone ever told you but I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I... I was told." replied Harry.

Black fell back a bit so that he was walking side by side with Harry. "Well...your parents appointed me your guardian if anything were to happen to them." Black told Harry stiffly.

Did Black mean what Harry thought he meant?

"I just wanted to let you know because, you should know. You have the right to. I also wanted to tell you that, if for any reason you didn't want to stay with your aunt and uncle...once I got cleared, you could...," started Black. He seems to be unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"Go live with you?" Harry was dumbfounded.

"Only if you wanted to." said Black quickly.

Harry went silent and stared at the man. A smile suddenly burst across Harry's face.

"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! How soon do you think you can get everything worked out? Do you have somewhere to live?" Harry rushed excitedly.

Black turned right around to look at him. Snape had paused and sent an odd look at the two.

"Really?" he said. "You mean it?" Black seemed to be holding his breath.

"Yeah, I mean it!" exclaimed Harry.

For the first time Harry saw Black's gaunt face broke into a true smile. It was then that Harry could see the carefree and happy man he had seen in the photographs of his parent's wedding.

When they made it out and past the willow tree Harry noticed that it was very dark out now, the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Everyone fell silent as they worked their way to the castle.

Harry's mind was going a mile a minute. He didn't have to go back to the Dursleys! He had someone who cared! He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend! He felt dazed. What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was going to live with the convict they'd seen on television! But what about Dumbledore? How much of it was true? Should he trust Dumbledore? Should he trust Black? But he wanted to leave the Dursleys so bad.

"One wrong move, Peter," Harry heard Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.

They were traveling pretty quickly and quietly all things considered. They were getting closer to the castle. Harry was elated. Everything was going to be right shortly. Sirius would be cleared, Harry would get his proof of what he had been saying hopefully. If everything worked out right he wouldn't have to see the Dursley's again. If not then he would at least have a parental figure in his life that cared about him now.

Harry noticed a cloud shift. The moon shone bright as the clouds sailed out from in front of it. Harry stopped when he saw Lupin freeze. Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Black froze before he flung out one arm to make sure Harry and Hermione stopped.

Harry went wide eyed when Lupin started to shake. What was wrong with him?

Hermione gasped.

Oh crap! thought Harry. His potion! He didn't take it!

"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now."

Harry found he couldn't run. Ron was still chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He had to help his friend. He moved to help but was forced back by Black.

"Leave it to me." Black turned to Snape "Take them! RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws.

Harry froze along side Hermione. Snape put himself in front of the children and tried to get them to run. As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. The werewolf freed itself of the chains just as the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.

Harry was transfixed on the fight until he heard Hermione's scream. He saw Pettigrew dive toward Lupin's dropped wand. Ron fell while trying to stop him. There was a bang and a burst of light and Ron lay motionless on the ground.

Harry shook himself.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled and Lupin's wand flew out of Peter's hand and disappeared.

"Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward. He had to get to Pettigrew or all was lost. Harry watched in horror as Pettigrew transformed and scurried away before he could do anything. Then there was a howl and a rumbling growl. Harry turned to see the werewolf running off into the forest.

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled at the man turned dog. Harry noticed Black was hurt but he seemed not to notice as the gigantic dog took off across the grounds.

Harry and Hermione dashed to Ron. Harry was relieved to find his best friends alive but he didn't seem to be able to recognize him.

"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered.

"I don't know." said Harry.

Harry looked desperately around. He couldn't see Black or Lupin but Snape was walking towards them.

"We'd better get him up to the castle and tell someone," suggested Harry, trying to think straight.

The sound of yelping and whining was heard. Harry noticed Snape stop dead in his tracks. It sounded like a dog in pain...

Then it clicked. "Sirius," Harry muttered. Harry wasn't sure what to do. Ron was hurt and Sirius was in trouble. He couldn't do anything for Ron though.

Harry took a deep breath and then set off at a run, Hermione right behind him. They followed the sound to the lake.

"Potter!" came a shout behind them. Snape glanced toward the dazed redhead before casting a shield charm and taking off after the other two children.

The yelping stopped abruptly. When they made it to the lakeshore Harry saw that Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

"Nooo," he moaned. "Noooo...please..."

It was then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. Harry could feel the familiar ice and fog that slowly was taking over his senses. He was trying to think straight.

"Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand. He was beginning to hear a familiar scenario play in his head. He forced himself to think of something happy.

I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys.

He forced himself to think of Black, and only Black, and began to chant: "Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"

He heard Hermione began to try to help. Her voice lost volume and conviction as the dementors closed in.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry yelled, trying to force his mother's screaming out of his head. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Harry watched a dim light and a thin wisp of silver flow out of his wand and hovered like mist before him. Hermione collapse next to him. He was alone. No! He had to keep trying!

"Expecto patronum!" he gasped.

The light grew lighter and the mist was stronger. It wasn't strong enough. A dementor got close to him. He watched it as it raised both its rotting hands and lower its hood. There were no eyes. Just thin, gray scabby skin that covered the empty sockets. The mouth was a shapeless hole that suked in air with a sound that could only be the sound of a death rattle.

Harry fought for all he was worth but felt clammy hands wrap themselves around his neck. The screaming was intense now. He could feel its breath...

All of a sudden he thought he saw a silvery light growing brighter and brighter. He felt himself fall forward onto the grass and he opened his eyes. He couldn't think very straight. The dementor must have released him. The screaming had stopped too. Harry noticed that the blinding light was illuminating the grass around him and warmth was starting to ebb back into him.

Harry then noticed that the light was driving the dementors away was also circling. Like it was protecting Hermione, Black and himself. What was it?

Harry was not sure how but he managed to raise his head a few inches and saw an animal amid the light, running away. Harry tried to make out what it was... It was as bright as a unicorn...Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched it come to a halt. Somebody was welcoming it back... raising his hand to pat it...someone who looked strangely familiar...Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think anymore. He felt the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as he fainted.

Harry woke to the sound of a conversation.

"Shocking business ... shocking... miracle none of them died...never heard the like...by thunder, it was lucky Snape was there and was able to cast a patronus..."

"Yes it is, Minister." Came the voice of the headmaster.

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!" the Minister declared.

"I do wonder what on earth got into those children?" muttered the Minister.

"It appears Black had used a Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions." came the calm voice of the Headmaster.

Harry decided to lay there, pretending to sleep while listening. Maybe he would hear something to tell if what Black had told him about Dumbledore was true or not.

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors...you've really no idea what made them retreat?"

"No, Minister. By the time I had come they were heading back to their positions at the entrances."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, the girl..."

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. Even Snape. I secured Black, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

Harry figured he was in the infirmary. He decided to look about.

Everything was slightly blurred. Where had his glasses ran off to? He hadn't lost them had he? He looked over and saw them on the table next to him. Harry was relieved. He put them on to look about. At the very end of the ward he saw Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry recognized Ron's red hair. Harry could make out Snape laying on the bed next to Ron's. He too was awake.

To his right lay Hermione. Her eyes were open too. She noticed Harry and pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. Harry nodded to let her know he knew. He looked back over towards Ron.

Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed with the largest block of chocolate he had ever seen in his life.

"Ah, you're awake!" the mediwitch said with relief. She started to break the chocolate apart.

"How's Ron?" said Harry and Hermione together.

"He'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you two...you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're...Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

Harry was sitting up, putting his glasses back on, and picking up his wand.

"I need to see the headmaster," he said.

"Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now..."

"WHAT?" Both Harry and Hermione rushed out of bed as Cornelius Fudge and the Headmaster entered the ward.

"Mr. Potter, you should be in bed." came the voice of Fudge.

Harry wondered if he should tell the Headmaster about thinking Sirius was innocent. He decided to go from a slightly different approach.

"Minister, Headmaster, listen!" Harry said. "Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors kiss Sirius without knowing for sure..."

Fudge shook his head and interrupted "Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control."

"NO YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry yelled.

"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said. She moved to stand by Harry and pleaded with the Minister.

"I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and..."

"I see what you mean Headmaster," said the Minister. "Confunded, both of them."

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared. He had to get them to listen to them.

"Minister! Headmaster!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!"

"I'm not distressed! They won't listen! I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously.

Madam Pomfrey managed to get some chocolate into Harry's mouth.

"Minister, these children need care. Please leave!" insisted Madam Pomfrey.

Harry managed to swallow the chocolate and tried talking to the Headmaster again, "Professor Dumbledore, Peter Pettigrew..."

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey. She put her hands on her hips. "This IS a hospital wing! Headmaster, they need rest!"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," said Dumbledore calmly.

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" came the voice of Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive?"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"What kind of evidence has been found to support it?" snarled Snape.

"Well, there has been no sign of Peter Pettigrew." Replied the Headmaster.

"That was because you were not there, Headmaster!" said Hermione earnestly.

"Miss Granger!" Dumbledore scolded.

"Headmaster!" the mediwitch was at her wits end.

The Headmaster sighed. "I'm afraid these conversations will have to wait until they are better. Poppy, could you come with me. I would like a word on the condition of these four."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey "I need to be here for their treatment."

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips. She turned to Snape and briskly told him he was free to go and then strode into her office at the end of the ward.

Harry heard Fudge clear his throat. "The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs in a few minutes."

He crossed to the door and left. Dumbledore followed Poppy into her office.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face as he passed him.

"We will discuss this latter," Dumbledore repeated before entering Pomfrey's office.

Harry and Hermione hand turned to watch the two interacting. Once the door was shut Snape was bombarded with protests.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth! You saw Pettigrew!"

"You were there! Why can't you believe him?"

Snape sent the two of them a look that made them fall silent.

"It is your turn to listen, and I insist you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time and I do not have very much patience." he said quietly but forcefully.

"There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story at the moment, except your word. The word of two thirteen-year-old's is not sufficient to convince anybody, let alone keep the authorities from administering the kiss. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Black murder Pettigrew. Dumbledore himself gave evidence to the Ministry that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."

"But, Professor Lupin can tell them!" Harry insisted.

"Professor Lupin is a werewolf, if you have not forgotten, and deep in the forest. He is not able to tell anyone anything. That and not many people will trust a werewolf along with the fact that he and Black are old friends."

"But..."

"Listen to me, Potter. You two cannot convince anyone that he is innocent, do you understand?" reasoned Snape.

"But he is innocent," Hermione argued desperately.

"Black has not acted innocent. He attacked a portrait and entered Gryffindor Tower with a knife. Believe me when I tell you that without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Black's sentence without hard evidence. We will not be able to get that evidence before he is given the kiss. The only other option would be to use what he said about the Headmaster and I know for a fact that idea would be laughed out of a courtroom." Snape explained.

"What we need, is more time." Snape said looking at Hermione.

"But ...OH!" Hermione's eyes suddenly went round. What? Harry was lost.

Snape looked at them and spoke very low, and very clearly. "I believe that you know that Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. You may find that office particularly fascinating tonight. Perhaps more than one innocent life tonight will be spared tonight. Remember You — must — not — be — seen."

Harry didn't have a clue what was going on. Snape was acting out of character. He went from being against Sirius angrily to levelheaded reasoning and then talking about some kind of nonsense in the matter of moments. Harry watched him turn on his heel and look back as he reached the door.

Snape consulted his watch, "Five minutes to midnight. A lot has happened these last three hours."

Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain.

"Harry, come here," she said urgently.

Harry moved toward her, completely bewildered. She threw the chain around their necks.

"Ready?" she said breathlessly.

"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely lost.

Hermione turned an hourglass that Harry just noticed was on the chain over three times.

Harry felt his world dissolve but then focus. He looked around. He was standing next to Hermione in the deserted entrance hall. It was daylight. He looked wildly around at Hermione.

"In here!" Hermione seized Harry's arm and dragged him across the hall and into a broom closet.

"Hermione I am kinda freaking out right now. What is going on?"

"We've gone back in time three hours." Hermione whispered, lifting the chain off Harry's neck.

Harry gaped at the girl as she pressed her ear against the cupboard door.

"I hear footsteps across the hall. It's us going down to Hagrid's!" she said excitedly.

"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"

"Yes," said Hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door.

"I'm sure it's us. It doesn't sound like more than three people. If you remember we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak." she explained.

"So you have a necklace that sends people back in time?" asked Harry.

"It's called a Time-Turner," Hermione whispered. She explained to Harry how she had gotten it from Professor McGonagall so that she could get to all her classes before getting distressed.

"Harry, I don't understand what Snape wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

Harry thought about it.

"Hermione, why are we trusting Snape? What if this is a big trick?" Harry asked.

"I know Harry, but what choice do we have? Do you want to sit around and do nothing as your godfather gets his soul sucked out?" replied the bushy haired girl.

"No." responded Harry, "There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," he said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago, or now because we are in three hours ago...This is a bit confusing. Anyway, Snape just said we could save more than one innocent life..."

And then it hit him. "Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!"

"How will that help Sirius?" asked Hermione confused.

"Snape told us where the window of Flitwick's office is...Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak... they can escape together!" Hermione's face went from hopeful to terrified.

"If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!" the girl whispered.

"Well, we've got to try, haven't we? If we don't it will all have been pointless." said Harry. He stood up and pressed his ear against the door.

When he didn't hear anything they left the broom closet. They looked around and took off down the empty entrance hall as quietly and quickly as they could. They exited the castle and ran for forbidden forest, keeping out of sight the best they could. From there they made their way to Hagrid's, keeping to the edge of the forest. Just as they got there they found their past selves getting into the hut. Once the coast was clear they went into the gardens to get close to Buckbeak.

The two of them listened to what was happening in the hut.

"I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment." whispered Harry.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.

"Hermione," said Harry suddenly, "What would happen if I went in and grabbed Pettigrew right now?"

"No!" said Hermione in a terrified whisper. "We can't do that. You see, we're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! We, as well as everyone else, are not supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Snape! If we're seen our past selves could freak out and cause bad things to happen. Loads of people have ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake!"

"I was just asking!" replied Harry taken back.

Hermione nudged him and pointed toward the castle. Harry looked to see Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps. A few moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Harry saw himself, Ron, and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. Harry had the strangest feeling as he watched himself and the other Hermione move about with past Ron. Harry wondered if he would wake up in the hospital wing to find it was all a weird dream. Or in his bed and the whole day had been a dream.

Harry heard a knock on Hagrid's front door. It had to be the execution party arriving. They watched as Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry still felt weird as he watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin as Hermione, Ron and his footprints retreated. He strained to listen to what was happening. They had to wait until they had seen the hippogriff before taking him or Hagrid would be in big trouble.

"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out — outside," Hagrid croaked.

They heard Fudge talk to Hagrid about the execution notice needing signed.

Harry watched the window and saw Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.

As Fudge's voice started again, Harry darted out from behind his tree, jumped the fence into the pumpkin patch, and approached Buckbeak. Harry reminded himself to not blink as he stared up into Buckbeak's fierce orange eyes once more and bowed. Buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again. Harry began to untie the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.

Harry had to convince the Hippogriff to come with him. Even then Buckbeak was giving him a hard time. Harry heard footsteps echoed from within the cabin.

"Buckbeak, move!" Harry hissed as he tugged on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. Finally the hippogriff began to walk. Hermione was encouraging Harry to hurry from the trees of the forbidden forest. Harry could hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. He gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. They had reached the trees.

Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak stood quite still. There was deafening silence...

"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"

"It was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"

"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.

There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. A howl broke out and then Harry could hear Hagrid's words through his sobs.

"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"

Harry and Hermione listened closely until there was silence once more.

"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.

"We'll have to hide here, in the woods," said Hermione, who looked very shaken. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours. It's a miracle we've made it this far, I don't know how we are going to do the rest but we have to."

Some time passed as the two waited in the forest.

"Hey Hermione." said Harry.

"Hmm?" the girl responded.

"Do you think it's true?" the girl was asked.

"About Dumbledore?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded.

"I'm not sure. It seems Sirius genuinely thinks so. What do you think?"

"I...I want to believe him but...I don't want to think badly about Dumbledore either." Harry finished in a whisper.

The sun was setting now.

Harry was getting anxious. "We should move so we can see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."

"Okay, But we've got to keep out of sight." She reminded him.

They moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the Willow. They watched as Ron ran after Scabbers, caught him and was attacked by Crookshanks. Then Sirius, in dog form, came into the scene and seize Ron. The two disappeared into the passage after Crookshanks pressed the knot. They watched themselves enter the passage.

Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.

"Right after we'd gone down into the passage!" said Hermione.

They watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. A few minutes latter Lupin came sprinting out and toward the Willow. He pressed the knot with a stick and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots. Right After Hagrid came into view.

"No, Buckbeak!" Harry and Hermione both grabbed ahold of the hippogriff to stop him from running to Hagrid. The hippogriff didn't calm down until Hagrid made it into the castle.

Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow. the man skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around and grabbed the cloak. Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.

"Wow, the grounds were really busy. Now I guess we wait again." said Hermione quietly. Harry sighed. This was taxing his nerves.

He took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree. Hermione sat down on the dry ground and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Hey Harry?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think is up with Snape?"

Harry thought about it. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Do you think he knows something?" she asked.

"He seems to know a lot of things." replied Harry.

Hermione slugged him in the arm.

"Bloody hell, what was that for?" the messy haired boy yelped and grabbed his arm.

"Don't do the wise sage act to me Harry Potter! I hate it when people give vauge answers." the bushy haired girl huffed.

Harry grinned apologetically.

Slowly time passed and the moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. They both sat with her face turned toward the Willow, waiting. And then, at last, after over an hour...

"There we are!" Hermione whispered.

She and Harry got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They watched the scene that they had been apart of three hours ago. Harry grew tense.

"Harry," Hermione muttered as though she knew exactly what he was thinking, "We've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do..."

"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again..." said Harry quietly.

"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Hermione. "There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius! We're not supposed to be doing anything else!"

"All right!" Harry surrendered.

They watched as the moon slid out from behind its cloud. They saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Lupin began to transform.

"Hermione!" said Harry suddenly. "We've got to move!"

"We mustn't, I keep telling you..."

"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"

Hermione gasped.

"Quick!" she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors will be coming any moment!"

"Back to Hagrid's!" Harry said. "It's empty now, come on!"

They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them.

They made it to the cabin. Harry threw open the door and Hermione and Buckbeak flashed past him. Harry threw himself in after them and bolted the door.

Harry was looking out of the window. It was much harder to see what was going on from here.

"Hermione, I think I should go back out. I can't see what's going on and we won't know when it's time..."

Hermione looked up. Her expression was suspicious but she nodded.

"I'll wait here with Buckbeak...but Harry, be careful and remember not to interfere. There's a werewolf out there, not to mention the dementors..."

Harry exited the cabin and instantly heard yelping in the distance. That meant the dementors were closing in on Sirius.

Harry worked his way to the lake. He crouched behind some bushes. He watched as the dementors began to surround the figures on the other side of the lake. He watched as he and Hermione tried to defend Sirius. The closer they got the faster his heart beat. One bent down to his past self and he watched as it pulled back its hood.

It was then that he noticed Snape. The man had frozen when the dementors had swarmed them. Harry watched as he seemed to come to his senses and run to the figures across the lake and something silver erupted out of his wand. It looked like a wolf or a big dog. It started to chase the dementors who suddenly started retreating. As soon as they were gone the dog returned to Snape. The man seemed to sway but patted the silver animal. The spell vanished and Harry watched the potions professor fall to the ground.

It was then that Hermione came up to Harry.

Together they peered around the bush at the other bank. Dumbledore had made it outside to them. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, Snape and Black onto them. By the looks of it he had already gotten Ron, who was floating on a fifth stretcher. When done the Headmaster made it out toward the castle.

"Should be soon," Hermione said tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Snape locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing."  
So far so good Harry thought to himself. Just have to get the hippogriff to the window at the right time then somehow make it to the hospital wing.

They waited. Harry was nervous and he figured Hermione was too. Buckbeak seemed bored.

"Do you think it's time yet?" said Harry, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.

Just then Hermione gasped. Harry looked to where she was looking. Harry stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.

"Macnair!" said Harry. "The executioner! He's gone to get the dementors! This is it, Hermione."

Harry helped Hermione on Buckbeak's back before getting on himself. He hurriedly made makeshift reins.

"Ready?" he whispered to Hermione. The girl nodded and held onto Harry. They took off, Buckbeak soared. They flew up to the windows, Harry counting them as they flew by. "He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. He reached out and tapped sharply on the glass. Black looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.

"Alohomora!"

The window sprang open.

"How... how...?" asked the man completely bewildered, staring at the hippogriff.

"Get on! There's not much time," Harry told the man, "the dementors are coming, Macnair's gone to get them."

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and worked his way threw the window. He managed to get behind Hermione before Buckbeak took off for the tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

"Hurry Sirius," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" asked Sirius concerned.

"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick ! Go!"

"How can I ever thank..."

"GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.

Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are truly your father's son, Harry..."

With that Harry watched his godfather, whom he he only known for a few hours yet had somehow grown attached to the man, disappears into the night sky.

The two of them raced back to the hospital wing to make it just as Snape was coming out of the door.

"We did it sir!" said Hermione out of breath.

"I have no idea what you two are talking about. Get inside before Madam Pomfrey has your heads." scolded the man with a scowl.

Harry didn't care if the man was back to acting mean or not, he couldn't help the grin that was on his face. As they rushed inside Harry could have sworn that the corner of the Potion's Master's lips curled up as he closed the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**~AN HAS BEEN REVISED! This chapter will start to stray significantly from the books. From here on out there will probably be very little drawn out of the books other then some plot devices. The characters may start to act out of character form the cannon. I will try to keep their personalities though. This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is some plot bunnies and any OC characters that may pop up (I don't have plans for any but sometimes plans changes). Also I will not tell you the parings in advance because it will ruin some plot twists. Enjoy!**

Dumbledore was livid.

How dare that man get away! This could ruin me! Everything a few days ago was going just fine! I absolutely had to get him found!

He paced his office while grabbing and smashing random items as he went, probably for the fifth time that week.

He was grabbing at straws.

He somehow had to figure out what Black had said to the kids in the shack and fix anything Black had undone as well as stop him from undoing anything in the future.

He figured he should have tea with Severus. Severus may know something that could help him fix the situation. He, after all, had serious doubts about Black's innocence regardless of what may or maynot have happened that night. When he had tried to look at Severus' memories, they were in a mess. Evidently between the dementors and being confounded by Black when he went to rescue the children had caused them to jumble.

Dumbledore knew asking the werewolf would not work because his wolf self would have made that impossible right now.

The children were no help for similar reasons as Severus but unlike his potion's master they seemed to want to keep their views. He couldn't read the children's minds while in Hogwarts because the castle wouldn't let him. The castle wouldn't let him do a lot of things he wished it would. The only other way was to get the children to believe that Black was just a crazy fool.

So here he was, writing a note to Severus Snape to visit him this very day when he had the time.

Severus Snape was annoyed. Not that any meeting, or "tea visit" as Dumbledore called them, caused him anything other than annoyance or frustration.

Glaring at the offending object, Severus found himself at the gargoyle that guarded the stairwell up to the Headmaster's office. He would rather throw himself down the blasted stairwell then have this visit. Oh he knew what it was going to be about. It was oh so obvious. He was actually quite surprised this little chat hadn't happened sooner. Or that Dumbledore hadn't insisted it be happen as soon as humanly possible. In fact he was baffled at the attempted good naturedness of the letter, as if he had a say in the matter. He knew for a fact that he couldn't turn the old coot down. Or at least not now.

Severus spat the password out and began the climb up the stairs. He moved up them two at a time. The quicker he got to the top, the quicker he would be let in, the quicker he could get past the part where Dumbledore attempted to exchange pleasantries, and the faster he could get the meeting over with. He hated these stairs.

When Severus made it to the top, there he found Dumbledore's office door. It was the same door that had been there for many past Headmasters and Headmistresses. Light danced through the cracks of the old but well kept door. It was too...cheery. Just like every other time he had the displeasure of seeing it.

Snape raised his hand to knock when he heard a cheery voice.

"Come in Severus." the Headmaster called.

Severus managed to refrain from rolling his eyes as he reach out to open the door. He wanted to. He really did. Or bang his head on the wall.

He turned the knob.

Yet he remembered the need to throw himself down the stairs. There was still time for that.

He opened the door.

Well there went that idea.

"Ah Severus! I began to wonder if you hadn't received my note." said the Headmaster, eyes twinkling.

Oh sweet Merlin. He should have gave into his suicidal urges.

"Forgive me Headmaster, I have had a busy day." Severus told the old man.

"Ah yes, several exploding cauldrons from what I heard." The headmaster twined his hands together.

The twinkling was as absurd and overbearing as before Black had escaped. What was he up to?

"Please have a seat my boy! Can I interest you in some tea or a lemon drop?" insisted Dumbledore

"Tea will be sufficient Headmaster." Severus answered.

He would be damned before he ate one of those atrocious sweets. That and he was about ninety five percent sure they were laced with something. He had his money on either calming drought, some kind of truth serum, or possibly drugs. He wasn't sure which as of this moment.

Severus watched as the headmaster poured and then handed him some tea. He took the cup and put it down. He had no intention of drinking it. He was pretty sure that it would be laced too.

"I hear there was a breakthrough in the potions world. Something to help cure nerve damage. Fascinating what is discovered everyday." remarked the old man who sent a look at Severus.

"I heard," replied the potions master "but I was under the impression there was something you needed to discuss. Unless it is something more than the latest potion's discovery, as much as I do find those fascinating, I do have important things to get done this evening."

He was not going to play these games. Not with Dumbledore. The old man damn well knew how he felt about them.

Dumbledore looked at Severus. The twinkle lessened. He stood up and turned toward the fire. Severus waited.

"Yes there was something I wanted to talk about." The Headmaster paused.

Severus go the urge to throw his cup, tea and all, at the old man. Did he have to be so unbearably dramatic?

"I'll get straight to the point." said Dumbledore.

Severus severely doubted that statement.

"Black has escaped." another paused.

Severus decided to just wait to see if this was going anywhere.

The Headmaster sighed "I was wondering if you had any idea what he is up to. I fear that he may try to find a way to bring Voldemort back."

Severus paused. Well, might as well dig his grave deeper. "And I suppose that suggesting he wanted to live outside of Azkaban is too much to consider?"

The old man turned to look at Severus sharply.

"That very well may be but we both know he had connections to Tom Riddle. So did you."

Severus narrowed his eyes at the man. "What are you implying Headmaster?"

"I want you to go back to doing what you were doing before..."

"NO!" yelled the dark eyed man.

"Now Severus..." Dumbledore tried to reason.

"I will not! I refuse to be put in that position ever again! I don't care what you have to use against me! May I remind you of the events of the past few years?" insisted Severus Snape.

"Very well Severus, but I cannot promise to be able to help you in the future." answered the Headmaster solemnly.

"Something I will just have to live with Headmaster." replied Severus before he stood and exited the office.

The headmaster had fumed for days after his talk with Severus Snape. He let himself walk around in a foul mood, going into bursts of rage in his office, getting short with the faculty, even giving a few detentions to students. The whole school had noticed and everyone was tip toeing around him to avoid his anger.

Truth be told, it shocked the students and the faculty. Even in the worst of times the headmaster hadn't been like this. Maybe it was his old age catching up with him. Maybe he was starting to go a tad senile. To his credit, he had been under a lot of stress the last few years, what with the philosopher's stone two years ago, and the chamber of secrets fiasco last year, now with the escaped murderer on the loose. To top it all off the convict had been seen in his school, had been caught and miraculously disappeared without a trace. The poor man must be at his wits end.

Some of them had begun to wonder if maybe he should step down. Surely he had done more than enough for the wizarding world and the school to deserve retirement. No one had the gumption to suggest it to him, at least not until his foul mood came to an end.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had also witnessed the odd behavior of their headmaster. They wanted to believe that what Sirius had said was due to his time in Azkaban. They wanted to believe that the Headmaster was exactly who they had believed him to be. His recent behavior though only seemed to suggest that Sirius was right. They had heard what some of the other people were saying and they had agreed with one another that maybe it was his old age. Although, that in itself did not explain the sudden and drastic change in the Headmaster.

Another thing they didn't know how to explain was Snape's behavior the night they helped Harry's godfather either. Why was he not livid? Why on earth had he not been more insistent that Black was crazy and needed to be turned in? Why had he helped free the man instead of turn Sirius in? Why had he insisted to the Headmaster that Black what they had tried to tell him was wrong? Why had he acted like nothing had happened that night? Why didn't he make any sense?

There was definitely something more to this story and Harry was determined to figure out what. He would go to Dumbledore to ask him about it, but he had the feeling that it would end badly, especially with how he was reacting to his godfather disappearing. Hell, he had even thought to go talk to Snape about it. The things was, he doubted the man would speak to him longer than two minutes, let alone carry on a conversation with him. Harry was sure it didn't really matter why or what it was he wanted to talk.

It was that morning that Harry received a letter from the headmaster to come see him after dinner that evening. Harry made it through his classes with a sense of dread. He had a hunch what the headmaster wanted to say but was not ready yet to discuss it.

He was not yet sure who he believed. A part of him told him that Dumbledore was exactly what he had always believed him to be. After all, the man had always been nice to him, supportive even. In fact he was almost a grandfather type figure to Harry.

Another part of him desperately wanted Sirius to be right. It would mean he could have a loving family, one where he was not just a waste of space or a freak. It would mean he could be himself and maybe get to be a normal teenager. It would give him a connection to his parents. But it would also mean that the world was not as it had seemed to him, yet again. To be honest, he didn't know how to feel about that.

Harry made it to the gargoyle that rested outside the winding stairwell. Harry frowned. He had forgotten the password. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"What on earth are you doing here Potter?" came a familiar voice. Harry spun around to look up into dark eyes. "Er, I was told to meet with the headmaster only I was not given the password…"

"You expect me to believe that Potter?"

Harry glared at the Potion Master, "If you are not going to help then go away!" Harry almost smacked himself for being stupid enough to be that disrespectful. Especially to someone he knew wouldn't hesitate to punish him for it.

Snape seemed to fume. "Ten points from Gryffindor for your lip Potter! If I hear one more disrespectful word out of you, then it will be more points deducted and a detention!" declared the Professor.

Snape then turned on his heel and started off down the hall. Harry glared after him but really was more shocked than mad. Had he really got off that easily? He looked back to the gargoyle.

Before the sound of footsteps rounded the corner, Harry barely heard two words. "Pixy sticks."

Harry whirled around only to see black robes sweep around the corner. Harry blinked. He must have been hearing things. Did Snape really just…

"Pixy Sticks…" Harry said aloud and the gargoyle moved to the side.

Harry blinked again. Oh dear Merlin, I think I'm going to go nutters! Harry thought to himself as he began his assent.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, in what is now a clean and orderly office, when Harry knocked on his door.

"Come in Harry, come in!" he called cheerfully.

Harry entered the office and closed the door behind him.

"Sit down Harry. Tea? Lemon drop?" offered the old man behind the desk.

Harry sat down but declined the tea and sweets.

"You sure Harry?" the headmaster tried to convince the boy otherwise.

"Yeah, I had plenty at dinner so I'm not hungry." Countered Harry.

Dumbledore let it drop.

"So Harry, how are you my boy?" asked Dumbledore with his eyes twinkling.

"Fine. What was it you wanted headmaster?" asked Harry reluctantly, not really wanting this conversation to happen at all.

"Yes. I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the Shrieking Shack." Replied Dumbledore, peering at Harry over his half-moon glasses.

"I already told you what happened, what else would you like to know?" The green eyed boy asked his headmaster.

"Yes, well, I was wondering what Black had told you."

Harry shrugged, "Just that he was innocent and spouting on some crazy notion about Peter Pettigrew being able to turn into a rat. Something about being framed and not being my mum and dad's Secret Keeper." Harry really did not want the headmaster to know he thought Black was innocent or what else he had told him. Not when he had doubts about the headmaster. Harry was just hoping he was making the right decision.

"You don't believe him then Harry?" asked the old man, twinkling back in his eyes.

"Not really, I mean, he didn't have any proof of what he was saying other than his word." Replied Harry, a halfway honest answer.

"What about Remus? What was his reaction to everything." Asked the headmaster.

Harry hesitated a few seconds. The atmosphere around the question seemed tense, almost dangerous. He shrugged again "He was very protective of Hermione, Ron and I. He yelled at Sirius a lot. He did finally listen to him. He seemed to want to get Sirius back to the castle." Responded Harry. The atmosphere shifted but Harry couldn't place the feeling of it.

"I see." Replied Albus Dumbledore. "You may go."

Remus made his way up the staircase to the headmaster's office. As he determinedly made his way up the stone steps, his mind was racing with so many questions. He made it to the door and lifted his hand to knock. Before his hand hit the door, a cheerful voice rang out and down the castle stairwell.

"Come on in!"

Remus pushed the old wooden door open and made his way into the room on the other side. There behind the ancient desk sat the headmaster with his blue eyes twinkling.

"Ah, Remus my boy! Sit on down, make yourself comfortable." exclaimed the old man, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

"I'd rather stand, thank you." replied Remus.

"Come on my boy, sit! Can I interest you in some tea or coffee?" Dumbledore tried to entice the werewolf.

Remus shook his head. For an instant he could have sworn he saw a dark look cross the headmaster's eyes.

"Well Remus, as you know, I am a busy man, so unless you have something you needed…"

Remus hesitated before looking the headmaster in the eyes. "I wanted to ask you about Sirius Black." Came the werewolf's reply.

The headmaster's eyes lost their twinkle "I see…what was it you wanted to know?"

"Why is it he never got a trial?"

"Surly Remus, with as many witnesses to the murder of Peter Pettigrew and those muggles, why would there need to be a trial?"

Remus turned slightly to the side and paused. The twinkle in the old man's eyes started to show back up. "Did it ever occur to you, even for a second, that maybe, just maybe, it had been a setup?" asked the werewolf in a soft but accusing tone.

The headmaster sighed and looked down "It was always a possibility that Voldemort had somehow framed him or forced him to do what he did Remus."

The werewolf was not happy with how this conversation was going, not really confirming or disproving anything he had come to figure out. He turned to leave, reached for the door but paused for a moment.

"Was there anything else on your mind Remus?" came the voice of one of the few Remus Lupin had let himself trust over his lifetime.

"I just had a funny thought."

"And what would that be my dear boy?"

The werewolf turned to the headmaster with a look that startled the headmaster. "Why is it they never found anything belonging to the dark lord or any remains of the dark lord's body in Godric's Hollow?"

A week later found Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting in the far corner of the Gryffindor Common Room. They still noticed the strange behavior of the Headmaster, as everyone most likely did. He seem to have calmed down and was being sweet to everyone but there was something off about the way he was calling people to talk to him. Hermione had commented that it seemed he was acting like someone trying to do some damage control. Both she and Ron had been called up to the headmaster for questioning and had given the man much the same answers as Harry had.

They three of them were having a discrete conversation about Dumbledore and Tom Riddle.  
"What do you think" asked the bushy haired brunette, turning to Harry.  
"Well Dumbledore does seem to be hiding something. I mean, why would he bother to call all of us for talks on the matter when he told him what happened that night?" reasoned Harry.  
"Exactly my thoughts." she replied. She looked at Ron.  
"Well I totally agree but...what about the stone? I mean, if Dumbledore is bad then Voldemort would have to be good. So was if Voldemort who was trying to steal the stone or was that a set up? And then there is Tom Riddle's Diary? Was that real or a set up too? I mean, it did try to kill us and Ginny." pointed out the red head.  
Hermione stopped to think.  
"Are you guys talking about that diary?"  
The three of them turned to face who had approached them. Ginny Weasley stood there with some books in her arms. The three looked at each other. Harry nodded and Ron grabbed her and sat her down next to him.  
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked.  
"Gin, can you keep a secret?" asked Ron.  
The girl rolled her eyes "Duh. Why do you think what happened last year isn't exactly common knowledge."  
Hermione interjected "This is really important Ginny."

She got a glare in response.

"Look, Ginny. Dumbledore may not be who he seems to be and Voldemort..."  
"Who is Tom Riddle." Said the red headed girl nodding.  
"Righ...Wait, how do you know that!"  
"I did talk to Tom Riddle for most of last year. We had quite the interesting conversations." replied Ginny.  
"Why didn't you say anything?!" Ron scolded his sister.  
"Well, there was the problem that you wouldn't have believed me. Not going to lie, it took me awhile to believe him too. Then I watched Dumbledore closely and I couldn't help but to doubt the headmaster. And as far as Dumbledore not being who he seemed, you won't believe the stuff Tom told me!" exclaimed the girl.  
The three leaned closer to the second year as she began to whisper.  
"Evidently Dumbledore was aware that the basilisk was loose the first time and did nothing to help the situation, just like last year."

"Are you saying he knew about it not once, but twice?" Hermione exclaimed.

The younger girl nodded with a grave expression on his face.

"Also he was the one who went and told Tom Riddle he was a wizard. He was in a muggle orphanage. Evidently he was made to return to the orphanage every summer. He had pleaded to stay."

"Why can't students stay during summers?" asked Ron.

He got a shrug as an answer.

"According to Tom, Dumbledore also was the one who got the rule of not allowing students stay during summers. Something about it being a holiday to spend with family and that professors needed a break." Ginny told him.  
Harry remembered asking the man if he could stay for the summer.

"Maybe there are no teachers willing to stay for the summer is why he turned him down." he suggested.

"Yes but, wouldn't he have been a ward of the wizarding world and therefore shouldn't have gone to a muggle orphanage?" asked Ginny.  
"Where you going to mention any of this to us?" asked Ron, who seemed to be rather upset by not being told.  
"Like I said Ron, you wouldn't have believed me. You would have said the dark magic was effecting me or something. I wanted to but it wasn't the right time." defended his younger sister.  
"Wait." said Harry "If Tom Riddle is good then why did the diary try to kill us? And why did it make Ginny do those weird things?" asked Harry confused.  
"I don't think it was Tom Riddle's fault." whispered Ginny.  
The three looked at her. "Well, it was more the diary I think. At first it was normal, well as normal as a responsive diary could be. But then it started getting weird. Like every so often it would be all different. It was always different when it made me do things. Tom would get all weird. I...I think it wasn't Tom when it did all those things. I think it was messed with. It was like the personality would change. Like the part of the Diary that was Tom would get tuned out or something." replied the redheaded girl in a worried tone.  
"Do you think Dumbledore had anything to do with it?" Hermione asked the younger girl.  
"I don't know, but the Tom Riddle that talked to me in the book would always get upset when I told him about the things that would happen. He actually would get all weird. I actually stopped telling him about it. It got worse and thats when I tried getting rid of it." Ginny was uneasy at this point.  
Hermione chewed at her lip, Ron had a calculating look on his face and Harry was frowning. The three turned to each other. This turn of events seemed to prove Sirius's claims about the Headmaster.

Remus had everything packed. He was running. He didn't know where but he had to be gone before someone suspected. He decided to do everything the muggle way, afraid the Headmaster somehow could tell what spells were being used. He packed hurriedly, taking only what he thought he would need. Only when it came to needing the trunk to shrink did he dare to use magic. He pocketed the trunk.

"Going somewhere Remus?" came a voice from the doorway.

Remus spun around to have his amber eyes meet onyx ones.

"Severus, you startled me!" exclaimed the tense werewolf.

Snape snorted "Obviously."

"I just received word my mother is ill so I am going to go see her." explained Remus, coming up with an excused.

"I see...Well I will make sure to inform the Headmaster when he asks." came the curt answer of the Potions Master, who continued to stand by the doorway as the werewolf left the room.

Remus Lupin could feel eyes watch him as he hurried out of the castle.

The end of the year finally came. Harry and his friends were glad to be done with tests. They were not glad to have to part. With the last few weeks and the strange behavior of the headmaster, as well as the disappearance of Remus Lupin, they were all concerned about what the future may hold.

The train ride to the station had been uneventful up until they heard a strange knocking on the window. Ron had been talking about the quidditch world cup when something very small and gray was bobbing in and out of sight beyond the glass.

Harry stood up for a better look and saw that it was a tiny owl, carrying a letter that was much too big for it. The owl was so small, in fact, that it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that in the train's slipstream.

Harry quickly pulled down the window, stretched out his arm, and caught it. It felt like a very fluffy Snitch. He brought it carefully inside. The owl dropped its letter onto Harry's seat and began zooming around their compartment, apparently very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task.

Hedwig clicked her beak with a sort of dignified disapproval. Crookshanks sat up in his seat, following the owl with his great yellow eyes. Ron, noticing this, snatched the owl safely out of harm's way. Harry picked up the letter. It was addressed to him.

He ripped open the letter, and shouted, "It's from Sirius!"

"What?" said Ron and Hermione excitedly. "Read it aloud!"

Dear Harry,

I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post. Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job.

I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted. There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt—

"Ha!" said Hermione triumphantly. "See! I told you it was from him!"

"Yes, but he hadn't jinxed it, had he?" said Ron. "Ouch!" The tiny owl, now hooting happily in his hand, had nibbled one of his fingers in what it seemed to think was an affectionate way.

Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather.

I would also like to apologize for the fright I think I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you.

If ever you need me, send word. Your owl will find me.

I'll write again soon.

Sirius

P.S.

I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat.

Ron's eyes widened. The minute owl was still hooting excitedly.

To everyone's surprise the redhead held the owl out to Crookshanks.

"What do'you reckon?" Ron asked the cat. "Definitely an owl?"

Crookshanks purred.

"That's good enough for me," said Ron happily. "He's mine."

Harry read and reread the letter from Sirius all the way back into King's Cross station. It was still clutched tightly in his hand as he, Ron, and Hermione stepped back through the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters.

Harry was hugged by Mrs. Weasley. He gave his friends a final farewell and turned to find his aunt and uncle.

Harry spotted Uncle Vernon at once and worked his way to him.

"What's that?" he snarled, staring at the envelope Harry was still clutching in his hand. "If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another..."

"It's not," said Harry cheerfully. "It's a letter from my godfather."

"Godfather? What godfather?" sputtered Uncle Vernon.

"He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though...keep up with my news...check if I'm happy..." replied Harry with a grin at the look of horror on his uncle's face.

**R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. Some plot twists await in the next few chapters! Enjoy!**

Severus Snape sat in the audience of a large court room. There was a large jury for this case. The case of Sirius Black. People had gone hysterical when Peter Pettigrew was found. Sirius Black had showed up the next morning at the ministries doorsept.

They had forbid journalists to be present. A select group of audience members were allowed. Severus had not bothered to see who else had been allowed in. Severus was sitting almost frozen in his seat, awaiting the questioning that was about to happen. The dark haired man was not aware of the breath he was holding.

Sirius Black was sitting in a chair in front of the Wizengamot. His hair was ratty and laying wherever it wanted at the moment. He knew he must have looked the sight in his worn clothes, all the dirt and grime, and the sunken in face. He was doing his best to look sane and in one piece. Truth was he knew Azkaban had done a number on him. The guilt and terror has caused deep emotional scars that he knew that needed healed. That needed time and support. He knew he was far from healthy physically too. He hadn't had a decent meal in close to thirteen years, nor a decent bath, or a good night's sleep. And because of all this he knew he looked a fright.

His breathing was irregular. Truth was he was afraid. Not of what was going to happen but if he was going to be able to handle the questioning.

In walked the questioner. He was tall and thick built with piercing light blue eyes and medium length straight auburn hair that was graying. Severus had never seen the man before, but then again he didn't make it a habit of going to court hearings.

The whole courtroom watched the man walk to the middle of the room. He turned on his heel to face Sirius Black.

When the questioner walked into the room Sirius heard the room fell deafeningly quiet.

Sirius held his breath but kept his eyes held on the floor about five feet in front of him. It wasn't until he heard the swirling of a cloak and the sound of feet turning did he look up at the man. He squinted at him. It wasn't anyone he could recall ever seeing.

The man cleared his throat.

"We are here today to hold the final questioning and trial of one Sirius Orion Black." Came the deep baritone voice of the tall man.

"There has been already been two intensive interrogations that took place, both with veritaserum." Informed the man. "During this trial we will be refereeing from some of the questions and answers from those interrogations."

Both men's eyes followed the man as he addressed the court.

Sirius Black hoped that this wasn't going to last long.

"Now. Do you, on your magic, swear to tell the truth to the best of your ability?" the questioner asked.

"Yes." Came the raspy voice of the man in question.

"Good. Now. Let us start at the beginning." Said the man as he turned dramatically to the jury. "When questioned earlier, Sirius Black was asked what happened the night of October 31st of 1981. Would you care to answer that question again for us ?"

Sirius looked at the man and nodded.

There was a pregnant pause. "Where…where would you like me to start?" came the raspy voice.

"Start with putting the Potters into hiding. Start from there and give us details. I will interrupt if I think you left something out from previous interrogations that is important or if something needs addressed." The man said politely but unemotionally.

"James and Lily Potter were growing afraid of the political fighting and the attacks that were going on at the time. They felt targeted since James had been an Auror, my partner, and Lily being a ministry official. Both had gained a good deal of influence at that time. I was approached and asked to be their Secret Keeper. They wanted to go under the Fidelius Charm. I…I…" Sirius swallowed "I convinced them to use Peter Pettigrew. He was not an Auror, so had less of a chance of dying and leaving them in the open. And I…I was the obvious pick… The charm was done by Lily Potter. Peter Pettigrew was their Secret Keeper because…I convinced them to…I shouldn't have. I would have died for them." Sirius Black seemed to stop there, not knowing where to go next.

"Lets move on to what happened that night. You said in a previous interrogation, something about being in a dinner earlier in the evening."

Sirius closed his eyes and was silent for a moment, as if to collect his bearings. "I was at a dinner with some friends and family. I got into a verbal argument and decided to run home to fetch a book to prove my point. We…"

"I'm sorry , but I do not believe you ever said who you were with and if there was an occasion for the dinner."

There was a pause "It was my birthday."

"Your birthday?"

"Yes, I was born on October 31st of 1959."

"…on your birthday" the man mumbled. Sirius gave him a weird look. Then he seemed to come to his senses "Please continue, I believe you were saying who you were with."

"I was with my brother, Regulus Black, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape and Tom Riddle. There may have been others but that is all I remember being there. The Potters would have been there if they had not been in hiding."

"Tom Riddle?"

"Yes."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the politician who became Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes and no."

"Please explain."

"That name started as a joke, from what I was told. His opposition built it up. He actually hates that name."

"You are telling me that Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was with you that night?"

"Yes, right up to the point I left to get the book."

The courtroom seemed to go up into an uproar.

"EVERYONE QUIET DOWN! I know there are a lot of questions but we are going to try to do this chronologically." The noise in the room droped to hushed whispers.

"Are you suggesting that he was not the one to attack the Potters that night?"

"All I know is that I never saw him at the house, nor did I ever see any trace of him being there. I left him at the dinner with the others."

"If it was not him the who was it ?"

"I do not know, the only other person I saw while there was Hagrid, who had been sent by Dumbledore to collect Harry and send him off to his relatives. It may have been a setup."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Look, all I know is that at the time, politics were dirty. People were getting physical. The attacks started, and as far as the Death Eaters, I never once saw or caught anyone in Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as you put it, group for doing any of those things."

"Are you saying they were all being set-up?"

"I was set up."

With that last statement the room seemed to grow quiet as if in thought. The questioner thought for a moment.

"So you were at dinner and left to get a book from home. What happened after that?"

"I got home and found the book on my desk. I went to leave and got a very bad feeling. I had planned on staying away from Godric's Hollow in fear that anyone who thought I was the Potter's Secret Keeper would be following me. Something told me to check up on them. There was something wrong. So I went. That's…th…" the already raspy voice choked. "I found it in ru…ruins. Hagrid was there with Harry. I tried to get Harry from him. I was named his guardian in the Potter's will. Hagrid refused saying that Dumbledore had arranged for him to go to his only living relatives. I couldn't convince him to let me take him home with me. So I gave him my motorbike to take Harry to his relatives. I went after Peter."

"Why did you go after him and not let the authorities do it?"

"I wasn't thinking straight. I was devastated and in shock. Honestly I never thought about telling the aurors because I was one. It didn't occur to me that I would need to. All I thought was that James and Lily deserved to have their betrayer found and brought to justice. Had I been in my right state of mind I probably would have contacted someone to at least let them know what happened. I manage to corner Peter and was about to arrest him when he freaked. He cut off his finger, hexed the bystanders, turned into a rat and ran. I was found almost instantly after that. I couldn't help but realize how stupid I had been. I couldn't cry. So I laughed."

"Why did you escape?"

"I knew that Peter Pettigrew was a rat Animagus. I saw a picture of him with a boy in a Daily Prophet issue. Said the boy attended Hogwarts. That's where Harry Potter was. I was sure he was in danger. I had to help him. I am his godfather, it's my duty."

"Previous questioning revealed that you agreed that you acted violently, attacked a portrait, held a knife in front of a boy, broke a boy's leg…you said you had no intention of harming that you were trying to capture Peter Pettigrew, correct?

"Yes. I regret having done those things but I had felt at the time I was doing them to protect Harry."

"How did you know that Pettigrew was an Animagus?"

"Peter, James and myself found out our friend, Remus Lupin, had been turned into a werewolf. We wanted to help him. By fifth year we managed to become Animagi. We did this so he could have someone to spend his nights of change with. We wanted to make it bearable for him."

"You did this illegally?"

"Yes."

"Why did you never fill out the necessary paperwork and make it legal?"

"We didn't want to get into trouble and didn't want to answer any questions on why we did it. We feared for Remus."

At this point Sirius Black was feeling awful. He wasn't sure how much more interrogations he could take before passing out. He was feeling so bad he failed to notice the questioner turn to him and give a concerned look.

"Mr. Black? ?"

Sirius looked up at the man.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"No."

"Just a few more questions if you would Mr. Black. Just to clarify. You broke out of Azkaban and traveled many miles, in previous questioning you said as your Animagus form, which is a big black dog."

"Yes"

"You lived off of scraps, garbage and rats?"

"Yes."

"You attempted to chase down Pettigrew?"

"Yes."

"You attacked inside Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

" And continued to ruin your name by doing all of this?"

Sirius was starting to get annoyed.

"YES."

There was a pause from the questioner. "Why?"

Sirius paused. Wasn't it obvious? "To help Harry."

At this point the room was silent.

"What do you think should be granted to you for this mix up? Some money perhaps?"

Sirius glared at the man "What use do I have for the Ministry's money? Money won't fix any of it. Money won't turn back time. Money can't change the past. What can I do with your money that I can't do with my own?" He was almost hissing.

"I didn't mean to offend." the questioner said taken aback.

The man turned to the jury. "That is all. The questioning is done."

Amelia Bones stood "Sentencing will commence in a week's time. Since it had come to our attention that Sirius Black needs some medical care he is to be sent to St. Mungos until that time."

**R&R**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. Some plot twists await in the next few chapters! Enjoy!**

Harry was sitting and thinking about the last few weeks. Harry's summer up until a week and a half ago had been uneventful. It was then that he had managed to get ahold of a Daily Prophet. Harry had been left at home alone while the Dursley's went out. They hadn't bothered to tell Harry where or why they were leaving, just that they would be back in a few hours. Harry had decided to go for a walk. About ten minutes later he found himself near an old playground on Magnolia Road.

Harry looked around absentmindedly until he felt something hit his legs. Looking down, he saw a newspaper. Harry soon discovered it to be a Daily Prophet newspaper. He quickly folded it up, stuck it under his arm and searched for a hidden spot to read it incase any muggles wondered by. He settled at the base of a tree at the far corner of the playground. He hastily opened the newspaper and read the headline.

"Sirius Black Innocent? A Rat's to Blame!"

Harry's eyes opened wide as he read the article.

_This morning, a box was left at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic with a note attached. Upon reviewing the note and checking the box for curses and dark magic, the Aurors opened and what they found inside will change the way people viewed the demise of James and Lily Potter and perhaps many other incidents. Inside the box, law enforcement found a rat. Not just any rat, but the Animagus form of Peter Pettigrew, believe to be dead 12 years this past Halloween. _

_Not only is Pettigrew alive and well, it would appear he was to blame for the Potter's death. Sources say that Pettigrew confessed under veritaserum that he had been the Potter's Secret Keeper. It was also discovered that Sirius Black never got a trial. Had he been questioned under veritaserum, this whole misunderstanding would have been avoided. Some sources also say that Albus Dumbledore's name was brought up but as of right now it is not certain what connection the great wizard has to this situation._

_Investigations are underway and a court date is set for this presumed dead ambiguous. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has asked Sirius Black to come forth so that the situation can be reviewed and ramified. Also it is unknown who turned the box and note in but the Department of Magical Law Enforcement thanks you and I am sure Sirius Black thanks you as well._

_Many questions remain so stay with us dear readers._

_Rita Skeeter_

Harry almost jumped for joy. Sirius was free. He wondered when he would be able to see his godfather. Harry was sure he was still wearing a goofy grin when he made it back to number four privet drive.

Harry was out in one of Petunia's many flower gardens weeding. Harry really didn't know why she had so many flowers when it seemed she never looked at them let alone enjoy them. Truth be told he had never minded weeding, it was actually relaxing.

Harry sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He had noticed something strange about his aunt and uncle lately.

They were normal when he arrived home from the station but the last few days…he just couldn't put his finger on it. They had begun to go through everything in the house and throw stuff out they didn't want. More like Harry threw it out but still. They were going through everything, clothes, food, furniture, personal belongings, EVERYTHING.

He vaguely wondered if they were going through some midlife crisis or something. Or maybe Petunia had finally convinced Vernon to redecorate. He knew what they were doing just not why. Maybe they did this every year, just while Harry was at school but for some reason it was delayed this year.

Harry really couldn't be sure because ever since the newspaper article he came across proclaiming Sirius's innocence, he had been too happy to notice much of anything. Maybe Harry was just going crazy.

Harry let out another sigh and continued his work. It wasn't until the sun had begun to get low in the sky that Harry stopped what he was doing. _That's strange. Usually they call me in before now to start supper._ Harry had started to wonder if it was him that was going crazy or if everyone else had decided to act out of character these last few weeks.

Harry brushed himself off and wandered into the house. Suddenly he had the fear that he would enter into some kind of strange universe or perhaps would wake up and find out that everything since the shrieking shack had been strange and very long dream. Maybe he had been knocked out and been in some kind of coma. Maybe he was under some strange curse or something.

While in the kitchen he started to wash his hands. As he was drying them he heard voices and shuffling in the living room. When he entered he found his aunt, uncle and cousin with mounds of packed boxes.

"Er…"was the only thing that made it out of Harry's mouth for several moments.

"Ah, boy. I need to…er…inform you of some new arrangements." Said uncle Vernon after noticing a bewildered Harry looking around the room. "Well, you see boy…er…it's like this…"Vernon paused. "I was offered a job overseas and I've decided to take it." Vernon finally said.

Harry blinked a few times. "Er…congra… wait. So we're moving?" asked Harry.

"WE are moving", Vernon said gesturing to Petunia, Dudley and himself, "But you boy, you are not going with us."

Harry's mouth fell open before he yelled "WHAT?"

"Now boy, don't take that tone with me!" shouted Vernon.

"But what about me?"

"You have been arranged to be handed over to other guardians so you will be going elsewhere. So helps us get all this into the moving truck!"

"What moving tru…" but Harry was cut off by the sound of a truck pulling into the drive. He looked out the window and back at Vernon.

"What are you waiting for boy, get moving!" Vernon shouted at Harry who hurriedly picked up a box and carried it outside.

About an hour later Harry, the driver and surprisingly Vernon had gotten everything into the vehicle. Harry wondered how they were going to get all the stuff overseas. Not that it was really his problem. Harry watched Vernon walked up to the driver and start talking to him. Harry could have sworn he heard the driver ask about him and Vernon mutter something about someone coming to get him.

It was then that Petunia had come up to him. She looked at him with an odd expression. She paused and finally stiffly said "Someone will be here to get you shortly." Before getting into the car. At that point Dudley and Vernon also entered the car.

"Wait!" called Harry but the car took off without so much as a backwards glance from his aunt, uncle or cousin.

Harry stood there, expecting this whole thing to be some big, elaborate and sick joke. The farther the vehicles drove off the less Harry's expectation seemed likely. When a cool breeze started to blow Harry decided to go inside. His mind was racing. _What is going on? They wouldn't even explain who was getting me. What am I supposed to do?_

Harry tried to come up with some logical answer. It seemed so strange, maybe even a bit suspicious. Was he being left here alone? They wouldn't leave him alone with the house surly. Was Dumbledore coming to get him? Harry would have loved for this to be true even a month back but now…Harry had no clue what he believed about Dumbledore.

Harry began to pace the floor. He was interrupted when his stomach growled. He strode over to the fridge and searched through it. After a few moments of scavenging through what had been left behind, he found some roast beef lunch meat and bread. He began to make himself a sandwich. He sat down at the table and sighed. Well he might as well wait to see what would happen. In the meantime something to eat would do him good.

Harry had just finished with his sandwich when there was a knock at the door. Harry slowly got up and walked to the door. With some hesitation he opened the door. He was met by the tall dark figure of his Potions Professor. Harry was sure he had a comically shocked look on his face but couldn't bring himself to say or do anything. If Harry had made a list of top ten people he suspected would have arranged to take him from Private Drive, Severus Snape was not on that list.

"Potter, are you going to invite me in or are you going to make me stand out here?" asked the Potions Master without the normal malice Harry was used to.

"Er…would you like to come in professor?" managed Harry who moved out from the doorway.

Snape walked into the house, past Harry and into the hallway. Harry closed the door and turned to his Professor. He paused, not knowing what to say. He finally settled on "Would you like some tea professor?"

"No thank you Potter," responded Snape who turned, looked at him and gave a pensive look "Why are you not packed?"

"I didn't know when someone was coming. The Dursleys just said someone would come meet me but didn't say who or when." Explained Harry who saw an angry look crossed Snape's face. _Oh here it comes. He is going to yell at me now._

"Did they explain anything to you?" inquired Snape. Harry shook his head and Snape pinched his nose in frustration. Harry could have sworn he heard him mutter something about useless muggles.

"Get your things, you are coming with me." Snape told Harry. "Do you need any help getting it around?" offered Snape.

Harry couldn't help but stare at the man who had yet to say anything mean to him or even get more than annoyed. "Shut your mouth and stop staring Potter, it is considered rude to do either of the two."

Harry shut his mouth and blinked "I'm sorry it's just, you are acting out of character, not that many people have been acting normal lately, and I was not expecting you to come and get me, in fact I just found out a little bit ago that any of this was happening, and I don't really have any idea of what's goin…"

"Potter, you are rambling."

"Sorry" apologized Harry once again "Well, I'll just go get my things." replied Harry who turned and traveled up the stairs and to his room. He didn't notice Snape follow him to his room.

Harry entered his room and started putting what few belonging he had into his trunk. Snape looked around. Harry got up to get some clothes and notices Snape, who was staring at the bars on his window. Snape turned toward Harry and their eyes met. There was a dark look in his eyes.

"Potter…Why is there metal bars on your window?"

Harry glanced at the window. He swallowed. "It was to keep me from escaping."

Snape turned to the door "and the cat-flap?" Harry looked down at the floor. He didn't want to answer these questions. Since when did Snape care anyway?

"They gave me food through it when I was kept in here for long periods of time." muttered Harry.

There was a long tense pause "I see." Was all Snape said. Harry looked up at him and saw an expression on the man's face that was a mix of anger, concern and something else Harry couldn't place before it turned inexpressive.

Snape looked at the trunk and Hedwig. "Anything else?" Harry shook his head.

"Well then, hold on to your owl and I'll shrink the trunk for you."

Harry picked up the cage that held his owl and waited while Snape performed a shrinking charm. Snape then handed the trunk to him. Harry took it from him and pocketed it.

"Grab hold of my arm and I will apparate us out of here."

Harry reluctantly grabbed the man's arm and with a loud pop they were gone.

**R&R**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN ****It had been called to my attention that chapter six and seven has confused some readers. I apologize and hope to explain what happened in them in the next couple chapters. Please let me know if it continues to be confusing after chapter 10 and I will rewrite it. **This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. Some plot twists await in the next few chapters! Enjoy!

Harry felt like he was being pulled in all directions through rubber tubes. He couldn't breathe. Just when he started to fear he would suffocate, the world pulled itself right again. They were standing in an old rundown part of an industrial muggle town that Harry was unfamiliar with. Snape turned and began to walk, Harry followed him. It was a very short walk to the last house on the street. Harry followed Snape into the old and rundown looking house.

Once inside the house, Harry stopped and looked around. He was in a small sitting room with threadbare furniture. There was a small couch, or maybe it was a loveseat, and two cushioned chairs. There was also a footstool in front of the chair closest to the far wall.

Most of the walls are covered in bookcases full with leather bound books. They all looked old but well cared for.

He heard some muttering and turned to see Snape adjusting the wards. Snape must have been adding Harry to them. Or at least that was all Harry could figure.

Harry looked around some more and spotted some Daily Prophets lying on a small table. He had not been able to get the newspaper at the Dursley's except the one that he had found at the park. Harry walked toward them. He picked up the top one.

"Potter." Came the voice of the potions master.

Harry turned.

"Would you like some tea or something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry but some tea sounds nice, thanks." Harry was surprised to be have a civil, pleasant even, interaction with the Potions Master of Hogwarts. Then again the past month had been just as unusual.

Severus Snape turned and walked into a small kitchen. Harry debated on if he should follow the man into the kitchen or not. Before he could make up his mind, Snape was back again.

Snape handed him a cup of tea. Harry took it and looked at his Potions Professor.

"Where is Sirius?"

"He is sleeping upstairs right now but you will get to see him in the morning."

"Really? He's here?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Yes he is here."

"I don't mean to sound rude but why is he here?" asked Harry confused.

"Potter, have you not read any of the Daily Prophets this summer?" asked the man, sounding a bit annoyed.

Harry shook his head and took a sip of tea before saying "I only managed to read the one that said Pettigrew got turned in. Do you know who turned him in?"

Harry lifted his head up and looked into the Potion Master's eyes.

"I did."

Harry's mouth dropped open.

Snape smirked "Feel free to read those, all of the issues for the last month should be there. You can find me in the kitchen when you have questions."

Harry watched the man walk into the small kitchen. He couldn't decide if he was in some strange dream or not. Harry pinched himself. Ouch! Well this is either a really realistic dream or its real. He thought to himself. Harry looked at the next paper in the pile as he sipped his tea. Harry noted that the tea was quite good as he read the paper was dated about three days after the first one. The headline read :

"Sirius Black's Trial: Man of Many Secrets"

Yesterday morning, the Azkaban escape, Sirius Black, appeared at the ministry. Later that day he received the trial he never got over 12 years ago. While no press was allowed into the room, we were allowed to ask questions afterward.

Those who were inside the room testified that some of the things that were learned from Sirius Black were shocking. Black's testimony, which was given under veritaserum, coincided right along with Peter Pettigrew's. Sources say that after what was said to be an emotional testimony, Pettigrew's final sentencing will happen within the next few days, if not by tomorrow.

I was not able to get any more interviews but the general talk of those coming out of the room revealed some interesting facts. Some information, like not having been the Potter's Secret Keeper and being an illegal Animagus were confirmed and discussed. Evidently Sirius Black has been hiding more than his innocence from the public. The Black heir is married to none other than Hogwart's Potion Master, Severus Snape. My sources say that the two had an arranged marriage before their seventh year at Hogwarts. Evidently their families felt that it would be dangerous for those involved if this fact were discovered. I'm sure I speak for the rest of the wizarding world as I wish the two a late congratulations on their marriage, a happy reunion, and the rest of their lives.

Until later readers,

Rita Skeeter

Harry had to read the last bit several times before it sank in. Once it sank in he had to remember to breath. He also had to force his mouth shut. He was not sure when it had follen open. That done he took another sip of his tea. Once again he had found that things were not as they seemed. Well this information certainly did explain some things, Snape especially. This definitely raised some questions but Harry decided to look through the other issues before going in and questioning Snape.

Harry shuffled through the papers, most of little to no interest until he found one dated a week ago.

"What Really Happened at Godric's Hollow"

_After a few weeks of secrecy a full report of what happened that Halloween night 12 years ago as well as the fate of two of the wizards involved that night._

_Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black went under intensive interrogation and what was discovered is unnerving. According to authorities, both interrogations revealed that nothing happened the way it was believed to happen that night._

_According to Sirius Black, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, was not there at during the time of death of the Potters. In fact Both Sirius Black and Severus Snape have testified that they had been with him that night with several others. Both claim that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named never ordered or participated in the attacks that were believed to be done by his group known as Death Eaters._

_Sirius Black claims that that night he had ran home to fetch something and decided to check up on the Potters on the way back. That is when he found the house in ruins and ran after Pettigrew. Pettigrew testified to have never talked to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named but rather Albus Dumbledore that night. Both parties do not know for sure know what happened at the Potter's house since neither was there when it happened._

_While these interrogations clarified the parts that these two played that night, it opens up many questions. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did not kill the Potters, then who? If the death eaters were not a part of those attacks, who was? What exactly does Albus Dumbledore have to do with it?_

_On another note, the fate of the two has been decided. Peter Pettigrew has been sentenced with life in Azkaban for the murder of a dozen muggles and assisting in the murder of James and Lily Potter. Sirius Black was cleared of all charges that he was initially imprisoned for but has been sentenced to probation for six months for the being an unregistered Ambiguous. During this time he is to receive care from St. Mungos to help him adjust to life outside of Azkaban as well as heal from his time there. The ministry has also granted him a large sum of money to help compensate for the time in Azkaban._

_I am sure that we will hear more about Mr. Black in the near future, best of luck to him, and until next time readers,_

_Rita Skeeter_

Harry was really lost for words at this point. This information nailed the lid on the coffin as far as the beliefs he had on Dumbledore and served to confirm everything Sirius had told him in the Shrieking Shack. He was glad for Sirius to have his freedom, even if he was under probation. Harry thought it was unfair but he really couldn't complain too much. He was also unsure of how to feel about Pettigrew's sentence. Harry decided it was time to question Snape.

**R&R**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. WARNING! I am horrid at spelling and I do reread and proofread my work but I still miss some things. I apologize for this. There was also upset feelings for the fact I gave Sirius probation. Their point was that he should have been pardoned of his crimes. True. However he was never tried for being an illegal animagus. I do not claim to be any where near an expert on law but I had thought the court would have had to address it. There for I used it as an excuse to make Sirius have to go to a mind healer(will be addressed latter and I'm not sure how much attention I will give this), which I think he should have had in the books if it were possible. (I thought Azkaban stunted his mental maturity as well as made him depressed and being made to stay in Grimmauld place only worsened it.) I also thought probation was far less a sentence then they would have usually given judging by Rita Skeeter's reaction to Hermione's threats. So that is why I did what I did. Sorry if I upset anyone. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. Some plot twists await in the next few chapters! Enjoy!**

Harry walked into the kitchen and spotted Snape who was drinking a cup of tea. Harry realized he still had his cup as well. He sat down at the small wooden table that looked but be fit for two, maybe three and looked at Snape. Snape looked back and there was an awkward silence.

Harry finally sighed and put his head on his hand.

"I don't even know where to start." groaned Harry.

"I would suggest one question at a time. I usually like to start at the beginning." Suggested Snape.

"Yeah that's usually a good spot to start." agreed Harry. He took a deep breath and started with the Dursleys.

"How did you get me from the Dursleys?" asked Harry.

Harry noticed his potions professor take a breath. "I approached them right after Sirius was officially cleared. We both knew their views on magic. Sirius didn't want you with them any longer than necessary, especially since you voiced your opinion of wanted to move in with him. When I talked to them they seemed to happy to get rid of you but were afraid of Dumbledore. It seems they too had been forced into something they rather have not done. I agreed to get them out of the country and out of Dumbledore's reach as discreetly as possible. Hence the new job. From there it was a matter of signing some papers. I never imagined they would keep you in the dark." explained Snape.

Harry took a moment to digest all of this.

"So he made them take me in." whispered Harry. He took a deep breath and looked at Snape. "...So you turned Peter in?"

"Yes."

"How did you get him?"

"Took about two and a half weeks to track him down. It came down to sheer luck more than skill I'm afraid. I happened upon him in the castle on the last night of patrol. My guess he was trying to get to Dumbledore. Mrs. Norris actually helped me corner him. I may or may not have nicely convinced him to get into the shoebox."

Harry couldn't help but grin at the last comment. He took a moment to think about what he wanted to ask next"...So you and Sirius...?"

Severus looked at Harry. "Does it bother you?"

Harry thought about it. Did it? Did it really? He couldn't say that it did.

"No, it doesn't bother me, it's just...odd to me and everything is changing so fast. It's kinda hard to take it all in." answered Harry truthfully.

"That is understandable." replied Snape.

He thought a moment for his next question "You didn't know that if Sirius was the Secret Keeper or not did you?"

There was a brief silence. "No. I thought he was innocent but I lacked proof to do anything about it. Also, I was still being forced to not inform anyone of our marriage. Then there was Dumbledore...There was very little I could do." Snape replied. Harry swore he heard a sad tone in his voice.

"You care for him." It wasn't a question. Snape looked Harry in the eyes before nodding once.

"Is...Is me being here going to cause a problem between you two?" Harry asked worried.

"No. Sirius is a very affectionate person. The more people he has around to love the happier he is." replied Severus without hesitation. Harry smiled. He didn't want to cause them trouble.

"How long have you two been married?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Seventeen years." answered Severus.

Harry gaped. that was a long time. Twelve of those years were when Sirius was in azkaban remembered Harry. It was a somber thought.

"Is it normal for two guys to get married in the wizarding world?" asked Harry. It was something that had been nagging him in the back of his mind since he read the article.

"It is accepted but not too common. It can be quite involved and dangerous to have a child in such a union."

"I didn't know wizards could give birth...So if you and Sirius ever wanted kids then it would be difficult?" replied Harry, not sure what to think about the whole situation. It was strange.

"Most cases, powerful potions are required. Even with those it is difficult and dangerous. Sirius is a rare case. Every so often a male is born with the ability to carry children naturally. It is actually considered a highly desired trait in the pureblood community. From what I understand they are what muggles refer to as hermaphrodites. They are born with the parts to carry children. Their magic forms differently as they grow than other males as well. It can happen in any male child but it does tend to run in the Black family."

"Oh." Was all Harry could say. He didn't really know what to say about the topic and decided to move on to his next question. "Why is he under probation?"

Snape snorted "In truth it was just a way to get him to let the ministry help him. They want him to stay in one place long enough to heal physically and for them to try to get him help healing mentally too. He had to be checked up once a week now by a healer, use to be every day. They seem to think I'm not capable of keeping him healthy." The man sounded really annoyed. "He is unstable but is improving in leaps and bounds." a look crossed the potion's master's face "he is not ever going to be quite the same." Harry was not quite sure what to say. It had to have been hard. A silence fell.

Harry cleared his throat. There was something that was bothering him. It was something that needed addressed. Harry wasn't sure if he could deal with the answer he would get.

"What about Dumbledore?"

Snape looked Harry in the eye. "Dumbledore is not who a lot of people think he is. He is very manipulative. He knows how to get to people before they figure out what is going on and by the time they do, if they do, they are trapped. I'm afraid I've been one of them. No one I know of has made it out of his control without crashing and burning. I doubt most people he's used even have a clue. In my opinion he needs put out of power but that will prove to be most difficult. While he had recently suffered some losses, most of them the public is unaware of how they affect him, and therefore trying to get them to believe any differently than they do about him can and will be dangerous." The man answered. The idea depressed Harry. But he knew it was all true. He just didn't know what to do about any of it, if he could.

He found himself wondering what Snape had been forced into doing, other then treat him like crap. He didn't know if he should ask or not.

"What did Dumbledore make you do?" Harry finally asked

Snape drew in a breath.

"You don't have to say if you don't want to." said Harry in a rush.

"No, you have a right to have the answer to that." replied the man. Harry's brow furrowed. Why did he deserve to know.

"He found out I was a follower of Tom Riddle. I had been careless. He gave me a choice. Teach potions or Azkaban. So I became a professor. After Draco was born and I was made his godfather, Dumbledore decided he was the leverage he would use to make me do whatever he wanted me to do. The Malfoys were also supporters and he could easily get them thrown into Azkaban. He knew that now that Lucius had a son neither he nor I would risk them getting sent there. I was made to be a messenger boy and make potions for the school for the most part. It wouldn't have been so bad but the messages he had me send were more often than not a form of blackmail to get others to do what he wanted. I gave sealed letters to the Lestranges, Regulus Black, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Lucius Malfoy, your parents, people I had no idea who they were... I was used to use other people. At first I had no idea what the letters had in them. By the time I found out Sirius was being sent to Azkaban, your parents were dead, Tom Riddle was missing and the world was acting like Christmas came early."

A long silence followed.

Harry looked around. it was a small kitchen done in light greens and yellows. It seemed awfully happy compared to the sitting room. "Is this your house then?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that it has not been inhabited often since I have taught at Hogwarts, so I will have to ask you to excuse the state it is in. We would have been at Grimmauld Place but it is currently under reconstruction on the inside being as how it is uninhabitable at the moment. So until it is done this will have to do."

"So, are you one of my guardians as well now?"

"I was going to mention that. Yes, Sirius and I are now your legal guardians and you will be staying with us. That is what I had arranged with your relatives." Snape responded and a dark look crossed his face. "By the way, I wanted to ask you about how they were treating you."

"I would rather not talk about it." Responded Harry in a rush looking anywhere but at his new guardian.

"Listen, Potter.."

"If we are going to live in the same house you should call me Harry."

"Do not change the subject." replied Severus. "Harry, you are going to have to deal with how they were treating you. You do not have to talk to me and it does not have to be tonight but it should happen. Sooner would be better than latter."

Harry nodded and there was a tense pause.

Snape decided to break the silence with a sigh and said "Since Sirius seems to still be asleep, he will most likely not wake until morning and considering how late it is getting to be I would say it is time to get you into a room and settled for the night."

Severus Snape got up from the table and Harry followed him. They walked into the sitting room and Severus showed Harry how to open the bookshelf to reveal a spiral staircase. They got to the second floor.

"At the end of the hall is the master bedroom, which belongs to Sirius and I. The door to the left is the bathroom and to the right is the spare room ,where you will be staying." Informed Snape. He led Harry into the spare room that had been turned into a bedroom. Inside the room was decorated sparsely with deep greens and browns. The bed was nice but old.

"As you can see, there is a wardrobe, a desk, and some shelving where you can arrange your things. I am going to leave you to unpack. Let me know if you need any help. I'll be downstairs." Harry nodded. He looked at each object as it was pointed out. Everything matched nicely but looked to be as old as the bed. The man turned to leave.

"Sir?"

"If I have to call you Harry then you have to call me Severus." replied the potions master.

Harry nodded and paused.

"What was it you wanted?" asked Severus with more patience then Harry realized he had.

"Why are you being so nice?"

"...Harry...I..." there was an intake of breath. Severus had been expecting this question but hadn't wanted to answer it.

"I never wanted to treat you that way. I fought the headmaster for months about it. He insisted. When I wouldn't back down he threatened to fire me. When I told him to go ahead he threatened Azkaban. When I told him I would have rather be sent there then continue being his puppet he threatened to harm the few people I care about...I hope that one day you can forgive me." there was a painful silence.

"Thank you." whispered Harry.

The dark man nodded and turned to leave again. When he left, Harry unpacked his things. It didn't take too long. He flopped down on his bed when he was done and before he knew it was asleep.

The next morning found Severus Snape to be woken up by grinning gray eyed man. A dark eye opened and looked at his husband who had decided to lick his face. If the man wasn't healing Severus would have kicked him out of the bed and onto the floor. He decided to glare. Sirius laughed.

"Mutt." mumbled Severus, not awake enough to put any malice into his words yet.

He was answered with another laugh.

"You are too energetic for this early in the morning." complained the potions master.

This caused a chuckle to be heard as the curly haired man to lean over and brush his lips against dark eyed man's. Severus answered by raising his hand and tangling it in the dark curls and deepening the kiss. The kiss broke and Sirius rested his forehead on Severus's.

"Morning." said Sirius with a smile. Severus smiled back.

"How is Harry?" the grey eyed man asked.

Severus sighed and brushed a loose strand of hair behind one of his husband's ears. "He seems to be taking things well, considering he had no idea we were getting custody of him." replied Severus with some anger in his voice.

"What? They didn't tell him?" asked Sirius with disbelief.

"No, evidently they don't think too highly of the boy." replied Severus as a dark look spread across his face.

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius with apprehension. He was suddenly filled with dread and was sure he wasn't going to like what was going to be said next.

"I do not know a lot but I do know the boy had bars on his windows and a cat flap on his door." the Potions Master answered with a sneer.

"WHAT!?"

Harry woke up the next morning to the smell of something delicious creeping into his room. He found that someone had covered him with a blanket at some point as he slept. He pulled the cover off and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Harry stretched and got up out of bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom the teen descended the stairs that lead him to the delicious smell.

After reaching the bottom of the stairs, Harry turned and walked into the kitchen to find his godfather, who was cooking something in a skillet that smelled suspiciously like bacon and humming a tune. To his left, Severus Snape, who was busy making coffee, had a slight smile on his face. Harry couldn't help but grin at the sight.

Snape turned and saw Harry "Good morning Harry."

Upon hearing that Harry's godfather turned and smiled at him brightly. "Harry!"

Sirius turned to Severus "Could you?"

"I've got it." Severus said taking the skillet's handle. Sirius gave the man a smile and turned to Harry. Harry went to the man and they hugged. Sirius gave Harry a big squeeze before pushing him away a bit so he could look him over.

"How are you Harry, did you get settled in?" asked his godfather in a rush.

Harry grinned at him again "Sirius I'm fine and I'm all settled."

"Good, good." Replied his godfather eyeing his hair and clothes. "We will have to take you shopping for new clothes, these will not do." Said Sirius. He ruffled the boy's hair "You might want to think about growing this mess out a bit too. It may calm the chaos." Commented the energetic man with a chuckle.

Harry mock glared at the man and tried to straighten his hair. "I have clothes."

"Harry, I am not going to make you wear a bunch of overgrown hand-me-down clothing." Insisted his godfather. Harry gave him a stubborn look. Sirius turned and looked at Severus.

"You may as well go along with it Harry, he will end up getting his way regardless. He always does." Replied the potions master with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Harry's response of "Fine" was met by his godfather's bright smile.

"We should do that today." Harry groaned and Sirius looked toward Severus who gave him a nod.

"What's the matter pup, don't like shopping?" bantered Sirius with a crooked grin.

"Not really. Not for clothes anyway." Muttered Harry.

Sirius let out a laugh. Severus took the bacon to the table, set it next to a plate of waffles, and announced with a no nonsense tone that it was time to eat.

After breakfast was done Severus and Sirius cleared the table. Sirius sat back down next to where Harry was sitting while Snape washed the dishes. Harry was drinking some tea. He noticed Sirius look at him, glance and Severus's direction and look back on him. The man got an odd expression on his face.

"Harry…I uh" Sirius's eyes glanced down before looking into Harry's eyes "I need to ask you something." Harry was not sure he was going to like this. Harry nodded slightly. "How…when you were with the Dursley's…they didn't treat you right did they Harry? Am I right?"

Harry's mouth went dry. He dropped his eyes to table. There was a pause. Harry nodded.

"That was why you jumped at the chance to come stay with me when I asked?" even though it was more a statement then a question, Harry nodded.

"Did they ever hit you?" asked Sirius softly. Another pause. Another nod.

"It wasn't a lot though. Most of the time when they got physical it was to drag me around a bit. They mostly just yelled at me."

"They didn't feed you right." came Snape's voice.

Harry's eyes shot up to Severus's "How did you figure that out."

"I know what malnourished children look like Harry. I actually have dealt with a good deal of abused children over the years at Hogwarts. You are the best I've seen at hiding it." Informed Snape.

Sirius gently grabbed Harry's hand. "You know you can talk to one of us about it if you need to. By all rights we should charge the Dursley's with child abuse." Harry's eyes grew wide and he froze. "But being as they are now oversees somewhere and I have the feeling Dumbledore somehow had a hand in it…We still can if that is what you want Harry." Finished Sirius. Harry shook his head viciously.

"It may prove to be beneficial if you did." Suggested Snape.

"No! I'd rather let them be and move on."

A silence fell. Sirius was in thought. He looked up at Harry. "Harry I just have one more question…they didn't…_touch you_ did they?"

Harry gave a confused look before realizing what Sirius had asked. A horrified expression crossed the boys face and he turned bright red.

"I would take that as a no Sirius." Said Snape.

"Thank Merlin! I didn't want to have to go back to Azkaban." said Sirius giving a sigh of relief.

Harry got another confused look. Sirius just laughed. Harry looked to Severus who snorted and continued washing the breakfast dishes.

"Well, go get ready Harry and we will take off to Diagon Alley." Sirius said brightly, changing the subject.

Harry got up and turned to leave. He was glad for the change in subject. Then a thought hit him. "Wait, I thought you were on probation?" asked Harry looking at his godfather.

"Probation, not house arrest Harry. I am allowed to go out if someone comes with me and since Severus is coming it will be fine. Now go get ready." Answered Sirius who was waiving Harry on.

Harry reflected on the past 24 hours. Being here with Sirius and Snape was better the being at the Dursley's. It was not horrible, in fact Harry would say overall it had been pleasant if he was being honest with himself, but it had been trying and awkward. Sirius seemed to be loads better and Snape seemed to care, which was odd. It wasn't bad but a civil Snape, while still somewhat stern and snarky, was still bizarre. And in a bit they were going clothes shopping. Harry wondered when he was going to stop being surprised at the twists life loved to send his way.

**How does Harry settle in? What will they encounter at Gringotts? Will moving in to Grimmauld place go smoothly or will there be surprises? R&R! Input welcome!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN It had been called to my attention that chapter six and seven has confused some readers. This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. WARNING! I am horrid at spelling and I do reread and proofread my work but I still miss some things. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. Some plot twists await in the next few chapters! Enjoy!**

About twenty minutes later Harry and his new guardians were ready to go.

"Alright, we are going to make a stop at Gringotts, get some clothes for Harry, get lunch, stop by Flourish & Blotts because I would love something new to read, and wherever else we need if we think of it. Not necessarily in that order." Declared the grey eyed Animagus with a big smile. Snape snorted and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on you lot!" Sirius grabbed the floo powder, took a handful, handed it to Harry, and gave a wink before throwing the powder in the fire and shouting "Leaky Cauldron!" Within seconds he was through the green flames.

Harry laughed. He grabbed a handful as he heard Severus mutter something about excitable and impatient mutts. He handed the powder to the Potions Master before following Sirius to the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry stumbled on his way out of the fireplace. Sirius grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled him to the side before someone else would come through. Harry straightened himself out and heard his godfather chuckle.

"Have some trouble with floo Harry?" asked the man with a grin.

"Little bit." replied Harry, sticking out his tongue.

"Do keep that in your mouth please." came the unamused bariton of Snape. Harry looked toward the man expecting a glare to be aimed at him but found it to be aimed at his godfather.

"What?" said Sirius with feigned innocence.

"You know what." replied his husband. Sirius just laughed. The three of them took off toward the exit into Diagon Alley. They stopped when they heard the landlord's voice.

"Hey Sirius!"

"Hi Tom, how are you." Sirius shifted to be facing the man better.

"Good. You're looking good. Outing with the family?" asked the innkeeper. The two continued to chat. Harry looked up at Severus.

"He is in an awfully good mood today." remarked Harry.

"You didn't have to deal with him when he woke up." replied the dark eyed man who kept watching his husband.

"Does everyone know that you two are my guardian's?" asked Harry.

"We did have to make it legal and I assume when the word gets out it spread like wildfire. I am utterly surprised I haven't seen it in the papers yet." replied Severus with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

Harry watched as Sirius seemed to engage in an animated tale to Tom. Harry laughed. "Is he always like this?"

"Most of the time." replied Severus who looked at Harry. "He use to be worse."

Harry let out a groan.

"Indeed"

Harry thought about his godfather for a moment.

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"How is he doing, I mean he looks loads better and seems to be right as rain but..."

"He is doing better, but like I told you last night, the ministry's whole purpose of his probation is to give him the medical and mental help he may need. He will start seeing a mental healer soon and is getting a check up every week." replied Severus.

"Does he need help? From the ministry I mean?" asked Harry.

"I could heal him physically just fine but the mental healer would do anyone who has spent time in Azkaban a world of good, whether they wanted it or not." the man replied.

Harry nodded.

"Well, you lot have fun!" came the voice of the innkeeper.

"Always do!" called Sirius as he turned to lead the way into the alley.

The three of them made out and stepped off to the side.

"What does everyone want to do first?" asked Sirius.

Harry shrugged and looked at Severus. "I would suggest getting the clothes that way we can do the other shopping while they are being finished." he replied.

"Alright. There are two clothing stores here, Twilfitt and Tattings's and Madam Malkin's. Which one would you like Harry?" asked Sirius.

"Well...I've only been to Madam Malkins..."

"Why not try the other then?" suggested Severus. Harry noticed a small smirk. He wondered what on earth that meant.

"Sounds like a plan." declared Sirius enthusiastically.

When the three of them entered the store Harry's eyes grew wide. It was filled with high end clothing, fabrics, lace, shoes, accessories, fancy displays with mannequins with some of the highlights.

He spun around to his godfather only for Sirius to hush him. Harry protested.

"Sirius..."

"No."

"But..."

"No buts!"

"It's expensive."

"So what!"

"This place screams formal/expensive! I can't wear formal looking stuff all the time."

"Harry" to Harry's surprise it was Severus's voice "They do make casual clothing here."

Harry huffed but gave in. It was two against one and he knew both men were known to be stubborn. It wasn't fair.  
Severus watched his husband drag their ward to the woman who would be fitting Harry. Harry had an annoyed look on his face while his husband was lively telling the woman all they wanted. The woman started to nod enthusiastically. _The poor boy_ the potions master thought to himself. It was then he heard someone talk to him.

"Severus!"

He turned to see Narcissa Malfoy walk up to him.

"Narcissa." replied Severus with nod. She gave him a hug.

"I must say, this run-in was unexpected. " replied the dark eyed man to his best friend's wife who had over the years became like a sister.

"Yes. Draco has managed to make a good job out of growing out of his clothing and I decided a trip to Diagon Alley was in order." replied the boy's Mother.

"Did you not bring him with you?" Severus asked.

"No, he hates having people measure him so I did it myself." She replied. "What brings you here Severus?"

"My new ward also needs new clothing."

"Is he going threw a growth spurt too?" asked Lady Malfoy.

"I'm afraid that is not the reason. it seems his relatives were quite neglectant on many things with the boy." There was a dark tone in the Potion's Master's voice.

The woman gasped.

"You mean..." The blond woman began to ask and gave a look. Severus Snape nodded in return.

"Is he here?" asked Narcissa.

Severus nodded toward where Harry and Sirius where. "He's with Sirius." They looked over to find Harry and Sirius talking to the woman. More like Sirius was talking and Harry was wanting to be anywhere but there. Harry was now on a stand and the woman was measuring him.

Narcissa grabbed Severus's arm and drug him over to the two. She let go and lunged herself toward Sirius.

"Sirius! Oh Sirius! How are you? Are you feeling ok? You should have visited!" the woman fretted over her cousin. Sirius laughed. Harry's mouth was hanging open. He was not sure why he even bothered being surprised anymore.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Really Cissa! As far as visiting, if I had visited while on the run you and your family could have gotten into deep trouble." The woman gave a glare and looked about to say something when Sirius pointed her toward Harry.

"This is Harry, my godson. Harry this is Narcissa Malfoy, my cousin." Sirius introduced the two.

Narcissa turned to Harry and gave him a big smile. "Pleasure to meet you! Getting a new set?" Harry decided the woman seemed to be a lot like Sirius in some ways as he told her he was getting a completely new wardrobe. The woman seemed to turn ecstatic and declared she was helping and that there was no way possible she was leaving until he had everything a teenaged boy needed. She definitely had Sirius's enthusiasm.

"Oh the new style from Paris would look rather dashing on you! Draco should have come, he is simply fantastic with colors!" the woman told Harry. Harry wasn't sure what to think about that statement.

Ten minutes later found the two women discussing colors, cuts and fabrics enthusiastically, Sirius giving input when needed, while Harry was doing his best to not look bored out of his skull. Severus was standing off to the side, refusing to participate. The poor boy.

About an hour later found Harry all done. The woman who would be making his new robes as they were shopping elsewhere. Severus and Sirius helped Harry picked out some pants, shirts, shoes, and other clothing while Narcissa talked to the woman about what she needed for Draco.

Harry decided he never wanted to do that again as they left the store. Sirius and Narcissa were still talking enthusiastically, while Severus and Harry were walking side by side listening to the two. Harry was really unsure how this all settled with him. At first he was really shocked, especially since this was Lucius Malfoy's wife. Both Lucius and Draco had been mean to him, particularly Draco. But then again, Severus had been mean to him too. It seems like everyone had started changing once the headmaster started losing control. Had he really been that manipulative to so many people?

Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks as a thought hit him. What if everyone he had believed to be dark wasn't evil? What about those in Azkaban? And what did this all mean for those he had believed to be light and/or on Dumbledore's side? Did Dumbledore have anyone that was loyal to him that would try to hurt him or someone he cared about?

"You alright pup?" Harry realized the group had stopped and were looking at him. Harry looked at his godfather with a panicky expression.

"You want to talk about it?" asked the gray eyed man with concern.

Harry shook his head. "Not Here."

Sirius walked to him, wrapped an arm around his shoulder and walked them forward. "Come on pup." Harry noticed looks exchanged between the adults.

"Well, I do need to be going" said Narcissa

"Everyone should come over for dinner once Grimmauld Place is up and running again." suggested Sirius.

"Oh! That sounds fantastic! I will have to let Lucius and Draco know. Owl me as soon as you know when it will be!" Narcissa exclaimed. She waved and turned to walk into a store.

"She was really friendly." commented Harry.

Sirius let out a bark like laugh. "Since Severus and I have custody of you she considers you family."

"Really?" said Harry baffled.

"Purebloods are very big on family, particularly the Black and Malfoy families." commented Severus.

"Oh...Where to now?" Harry wasn't sure what to think of this new growing family.

"Gringotts." answered Severus.

"You remember the book I told you about?" asked Sirius.

Harry thought and remember the night in the shrieking shack. He had mentioned something about a diary in his parent's vaults.

Harry nodded.

"We're gonna see about getting it. No promises though. The goblins are sticklers. I'm not sure what the laws are about it and i'm not entirely sure how they would apply in our situation." replied Sirius as they made their way down the crowded cobbled road toward the bank.

It was about then that Harry noticed the looks and whispers directed their way. He started looked around at the people as they walked by. Some of them smiled, others tried to look like they were doing something else when they noticed him looking.

"Ignore them Harry." his godfather told him as the three of them walked the white steps and entered through the bronze doors of the bank.

Inside, they passed through the set of silver doors before entering the lobby. The bank was busy with many wizards and witches being waited on. Sirius led the group to a goblin who introduced himself as Gornuk.

"What may I help you with Lord Black?" asked the goblin.

"Harry here has some questions." replied his godfather, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"What can I help you with ?" the goblin asked, looking now at Harry.

"Er...I was wondering if I had access to the Potter vaults." Harry told the goblin.

"Hmm...I'm not sure in your case. Follow me and I will take all of you to a room while I go find out." replied the goblin who then led them to a fancy sitting room.

Harry sat down and started looking about the room. It was a medium sized room with an expensive looking table surrounded with equally expensive looking chairs. There were other furniture in small groups that sat in two corners of the room. The chair Harry was in was off to the side by a smaller table and a small couch.

The walls were decorated in reds and tans with gold accents, the floor was white marble, while the furniture was either sold red or tan. The table to Harry's left had magazines on them.

Sirius had sat down on the couch and was flipping through one. Harry looked for Severus who was standing near the couch, looking at the decorations on the walls. There were no portraits.

"Hey Sirius?"

"Hmm?" replied his godfather, who was reading an article in the magazine he was holding.

"Why are there no portraits in this room?" asked Harry.

"Security reasons." replied the gray eyed man not looking up from the article.

"There are no portraits in the whole bank. We take confidentiality very seriously." came the sound of Gornuk's voice as he entered the room.

Harry and Sirius stood and approached the goblin.

"I am afraid that only the one vault you have been using is all you have access to until you reach your magical maturity Mr. Potter." said the goblin.

"I see. When will that happen?"

"That depends on your magic. When you do reach your maturity you will become Lord Potter and will have access to all of the Potter vaults and properties as well as your seat on the Wizengamot."

"Wait, I will be Lord Potter?" Harry looked at his guardians. "Why didn't anyone say anything?"

Both men looked at Harry and then at each other.

"No one told him?" asked Sirius.

"I thought he knew." replied Severus.

"You three can stay and talk in here, but we are busy right now so unless any of you need me, I need to return to the lobby." interjected the goblin.

Severus thanked the goblin who left.

"Harry, your grandfather, Charles Potter, was the last Lord Potter. Your father was the Potter heir. He never go the title because he went into hiding and there is paperwork involved when passing over a title that he was unable to fill out. When he died that got passed to you. Since they are both passed, that makes you Lord Potter but you cannot claim the title until you come to magical maturity." explained Sirius.

Harry soaked in the information. "And you are Lord Black?"

"Yes, when I was cleared I was made Lord Black since I am the last direct Black from the last Lord Black, who was my father."

Harry thought about it. "What about Draco?"

"What about him?"

"Isn't Narcissa a Black?"

"Yes but not directly. Her father and my mother were siblings."

"Wait...both your parents were Blacks?" asked Harry with a bit of horror in his voice.

"Yes. They share the same great grandfather. I try not to think about it." replied Sirius.

Harry thought about the situation some more.

"What does that make you Severus?" he asked the tall dark eyed man.

"Technically it makes me the Black Consort but being as I am the Prince heir, once the current Lord Prince passes I will then be Lord Prince." answered Severus.

"Why is your last name Snape if you are the Prince heir?" asked Harry curiously.

"Because my mother was the only child of the current Lord Prince to have any children." replied Severus.

"Oh. Will I get to meet him?" asked Harry. He was curious to what Severus's grandfather was like.

"That would depend on my grandfather." Severus answered.

Harry wondered how much of Severus's personality was from the man. Once past the sarcasm, bluntness and snarkiness, Severus cared a lot about those who meant alot to him. He also seemed to have a dry and intellectual, even though a bit dark, sense of humor. He was reserved and private. He seemed the opposite of the open, affectionate, energetic, charming and sweet talking Sirius.

"Well if we are all done here, lets go get some books!" declared Sirius. Severus snorted and followed the other two out the door.

Harry was pleasantly surprised to find his godfather loved books. It seemed he had a soft spot for fantasy novels as well as a fascination on anything about ancient history, runes and mythology in general. He couldn't help but grin when he saw the man go ecstatic when he found a book on ancient norse history and mythology. Harry wasn't surprised to find Severus browsing the potion's section but was surprised when the man picked up a murder mystery novel. Harry himself was not sure what to look for.

Harry wandered over to the next aisle and found a book on what was call Legilimency. Harry opened to the first page and discovered it was a type of mind reading. It also mentioned Occlumency, which was guarding the mind from being read. Harry started flipping through the book.

Harry jumped when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up to find Severus there.

"I have better books than that one on that subject if you are interested in it." Harry was told. He nodded and put the book back.

Severus looked at Harry.  
"Having trouble finding a book?" the man asked with a raised eyebrow.  
Harry nodded. "I haven't ever bought books other than school ones." replied the messy haired boy.

"What are you interested in?" Harry was asked. He had never thought about it. He chewed his lip. Truth was he wasn't really sure what he liked but he supposed he could start with what he wanted to learn about.

"Well, I would like to learn more about the wizarding world. I really know very little about it. I have next to no knowledge on the culture or the history or even how it's ran. I barely know any of the legends other than some stories about Merlin and the founders. I'm suppose to be Lord Potter someday and I don't even know what being a Lord technically means!" Harry ended in a huff. He hadn't realized he had gone into a mini rant until it was over.

Severus looked to be thought for a moment. He turned and looked through a shelf two down from where Harry had been looking. He picked out a book and handed it to Harry. "This one has a lot of legends and history in it from the founders time and before. I cannot say how accurate the information is in it but it would at least be entertaining. We should be able to find a book on culture if you wanted one but Sirius grew up in a pureblood family and would know a lot about it. He could answer your questions on being a Lord better than I."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, I will have to ask him."

"Hey! You lot ready, I'm getting hungry!" called Sirius at the other end of the row of bookshelves. Harry grinned and walked to the man followed by Severus.

Books all paid for, Sirius had insisted on buying, shrunken and put into pockets, the three left the store and went in search for a place to have lunch. In the end they settled on a homemade pizzeria between Diagon Alley and muggle London. It had surprised Harry when his potions professor suggested it. When his godfather's eyes lit up Harry couldn't say no. It had ended up being the best pizza Harry had ever had. Sirius had insisted they have Italian ice for dessert. Harry was pleasantly surprised by the treat and enjoyed it. He had tried the grape flavor while Sirius had raspberry and Severus had lime.

Afterward they visited some more shops, Harry got some more treats for Hedwig, and Sirius had them stop at Quality Quidditch Supplies to "look about" as he had put it. Part of Harry thought Sirius was a bigger kid then he was. Another part of him wondered if it was from finally being free.

They then made their way back to Twilfitt and Tattings's to pick up their order. The woman excitedly gave them their order, and after they paid told them to come back and ask for her. Harry was not sure how to feel about the energetic woman.

It was then time to return home. Overall Harry thought the day had turned out well.

**Will dinner with the Malfoy's go well? What is in that Diary? Does Harry get to meet Severus's grandfather? R&R! Suggestions and input welcome!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN I have been sick so sorry for the longer wait. I have made this chapter longer though. I know it's been kinda dragging but it should pick up after the nest two to three chapters. I just wanted to establish feelings, where some characters stand and throw some information in that will effect things in the future. Enjoy the plot twists. This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. WARNING! I am horrid at spelling and I do reread and proofread my work but I still miss some things. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. Some plot twists await in the next few chapters! Enjoy!**

When they got home Harry went to put his things in his room. He put the book on the shelf and the clothes in the wardrobe. He sat the bag of treats on the desk. He then turned to Hedwig who had been sleeping in her cage when Harry had entered the room. She hooted at him happily.

"Hey girl, I picked you up some new treats. Want to try one?" Harry asked. She hooted back. Harry grinned and fed her a treat. He stroked her feathers. He supposed he should write Ron and Hermione to tell them what had happened. He wondered how they took the news of Sirius and Severus's marriage. Harry grinned thinking about the face Ron had to have made. Pulling out some parchment, he quickly wrote out two letters that explained where he was, that he hadn't been killed by Snape, that he was actually enjoying himself, and that no he was not mental. He then tied them to the beautiful white owl.

"Could you send these to Ron and Hermione? You don't have to be quick so if you need to rest at their houses that is fine." the boy told the owl,who gave a hoot. Harry opened his window and in a white flash she was out the window. It was then Harry decided to see what his guardians were up to.

He made it downstairs and into the sitting room area to find Severus reading on a small couch and Sirius with his head in his lap fast asleep. As weird as it was to see his potions professor like that, he couldn't help but grin at the happy expression his godfather had fallen asleep with.

Severus looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow.

"I was just wondering what everyone was doing. I'll go read in my room." answered Harry softly, not wanting to wake his godfather.

"You can stay here to read." Severus told the boy.

Harry shook his head "It's ok, I left my book in my room anyway."

Harry trekked back up to his room.

A couple days later found Harry attempting to get some of his homework done. He had managed his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay and reading, he found that subject came easy to him. How to approach his transfiguration essay, while he did well at the subject, kept eluding him while his mind kept wandering.

He had yet to hear from his friends or Remus. He also had started to wonder about Dumbledore. What exactly was he up to and why? Why all the manipulation and what was he trying to do? Why had the old man put him with his relatives in the first place? He had also started to worry about next year. He knew some of the recent bad publicity would create some doubt toward the old man, but it most likely wouldn't do anything drastic. Not unless someone came up with some hard evidence.

Harry wondered how Dumbledore would act towards him now, and how much trouble he was going to give Severus. He wouldn't fire him would he?

"How's it going pup?" came the voice of his godfather from the doorway.

Harry looked at him and grimaced.

"That bad?" asked Sirius.

Harry shrugged.

Sirius walked into the room. "What's eating ya kiddo?"

Harry sighed. "I haven't heard anything from my friends or Remus."

"Yeah, that is a bummer. They could have been busy." suggested Sirius walking into the room.

Harry sighed again "Yeah."

"That's not all that's bothering you is it?" said Sirius sitting on the bed. He patted the spot next to him and Harry got up. He walked over and flopped down onto the bed. Sirius waited patiently.

Finally Harry asked "Is Dumbledore going to give Severus a hard time?"

"Ahhh. Well he might, but Severus is a strong person Harry. Plus, if Dumbledore tries to pull something too bad, his reputation has been given a nice blow. I doubt he would like anything else brought public. Severus knows how to take care of himself. Truth be told I'm more worried about when you go back to school. You'll have to be careful. I'm not sure which teachers are trustworthy but you can always count on Severus, Harry."

Harry nodded and turned his head to face Sirius. "I would have called you crazy even a few week ago. We didn't get along. He explained why he was the way he was to me though. You know, he actually has saved my life a couple of times. I never thanked him for it."

Sirius smiled at his godson. "He would probably mean a lot to him if you did." Sirius paused "There was something I wanted to tell you but know I can't remember."

There was another pause."Why did he?" asked Harry looking at his godfather.

"Why did he what?"

"Why did he save me?"

Sirius paused as if trying to find an answer for Harry. "Well, other than the fact it would have been the right thing to do, you are the son of Lily Potter. I don't know if you know or not, but they were best friends growing up."

"They were friends?" asked Harry astonished.

"Hmhm, ever since before school. There is also the well kept secret he is your other godfather." Sirius told his godson, watching him for a reaction.

Harry sat up, "Really?" he said surprised.

"Yup. Like I said, he was your mum's best friend. They were thick as thieves growing up. Your dad was terrible to Severus, I was too for the first few years of school. Your mum hated us for years over it." confided Sirius.

"What made you change your mind about him?" asked Harry.

"Well my father and his grandfather arranged our marriage when we were fourteen. His father had just died, leaving him in his grandfather's care, he drunk himself to death after Severus's mum died. His grandfather brought him over to my house because he didn't know what to do with him while he straightened things out. I should probably tell you my father, Orion Black, was great friends with Severus's grandfather, Sylas Prince. Evidently my father feared my rebellious nature and thought I would turn into a harlot or some other rubbish. His solution was getting me engaged." Sirius rolled his eyes and Harry grinned with the last comment.

"Anyway his grandfather brought him over while he straightened everything out. They put him in my room with me because my Aunt and Uncle on my mother's side were staying along with all three of their daughters, Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa. So he ended up in my room with a bed my mother transfigured. I ended up staying in the room the rest of the evening because I was hiding from Bellatrix who had decided that since I was a carrier she ought to put me in dresses. I don't then she ever got out of that notion. Anyway we ended up talking and I learned he was a lot different than I thought he was. We reached an understanding and we sort of became friends by the end of that summer." explained Sirius.

Harry sat on his bed with a look of surprise on his face. Sirius chuckled. "Don't worry about it too much. And if Dumbledore tries to pull something with you or Severus I'll come and kick his arse, ok?"

Harry snorted but smiled. Sirius gave him a one armed hug and left the room. Harry settled back at his desk. He heard a noise and looked toward the window. There was Hedwig. Harry smiled.

He went to his window and opened it so that the snowy owl could fly in. Harry's smile grew when he saw two envelopes, one with Hermione's neat and loopy cursive, the other with a careless yet readable print. Harry couldn't help but chuckle as he thought about how much the handwriting told about his two friends.

Harry decided to open the letter from Ron first, he was bound to be more dramatic.

_Harry,_

_I am glad you got away from those relatives of yours. I can't believe you're living with Snape. SNAPE! I can't believe he's married. MARRIED. To Sirius. So much has happened that I find hard to believe. I don't even know how to react to it all. We need to get together sometime. Maybe you can visit. I really need to wrap my head around it all and I'm afraid that if I come over to visit I will say or do something stupid. That and mums worried sick over you. Something about all the change, stress, something, something. I love my mum but she rambles when she gets like that.  
_

_Anyway,I am really glad you seem to be happy or content or whatever you said you were with the situation. I know I would be in pieces from confusion alone. I suppose I'm ok with it all, so long as they are being good to you. I will stop being ok with it if I hear otherwise. I'm really glad you got way from your aunt and uncle, they were horrid and I felt terrible that you had to spend summers with them.  
_

_Anyway, I hope you can come visit soon. Be wary if you do come to visit, the twins have been up to no good. They have been making prank items and driving mum nutters! Between you and the twins she's been unbearable. She did calm down a bit when I let her read the letter you sent me. I hope you don't mind but she was bugging me and I felt if she read it the less everyone would be harassed.  
_

_Oh, before I forget and get murdered for not saying, everyone says hi and mum sends her love._

_Looking forward to seeing you!_

_Ron_

_P.S. tell Sirius hi for me!_

Harry chuckled at his friend. Ron had taken it a lot better than he thought he would. Then again he had access to the articles from the Prophet when they came out so he had more time to come to terms with the information the Harry himself had. Harry then opened Hermione's letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm so glad to hear from you! I hope you haven't been too shocked by it all, you seem to be taking it well. I'm glad they have been treating you well. It seems you and Professor Snape have had the chance to come to some sort of understanding. I've very proud of you for doing that! Some people have a hard time doing so. Then again he was helpful in the past despite his foul mood. It is possible that it was more or less an act and that he never really hated you Harry. You should probably talk to him about it. _

_I can't wait to see you sometime! Maybe I can visit, if Snape doesn't mind. I don't think Sirius would have a problem with it. We need to catch up. Maybe we could all go out somewhere like a museum! I love museums! Or the movie theater! Ron would have the most priceless face! Do you think Sirius or Professor Snape has ever been to one?_

_You will have to tell me what their relationship is like! I bet they are adorable! I'm sorry, but you know I'm secretly a romantic fool. I read up on carriers and they are fascinating! Their magic works a bit differently and there are only somewhere between 5 to 15 alive at one time in the world! They also have a high mortality rate as children. Something to do with how their magic forms that it can backlash if their body doesn't react well to it. Evidently when they go through magical maturity it is very painful to them. Maybe Sirius will tell me about it. I hope I'm not rambling too much.  
_

_I can't wait to see you and I hope you're doing well with your homework. I know your relatives were not the best at letting you work on it. Tell Sirius and Professor Snape I said hello and wish them well!_

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Harry smiled at the girl's letter. She always had a way of making him feel better. Harry put the letters into a drawer and went back to his homework.

While Harry was reading his letters, Sirius had walked down the stairs lost in thought. He made it to the sitting room and sat down in the nearest chair. He missed the look Severus shot at him. He thought a few more moments before breaking the silence.

"Have you heard from Remus?" asked Sirius looking straight ahead.

"The last I heard from him was when he was leaving Hogwarts early. Said his mother had taken ill." replied the dark eyed man.

Sirius turned his head and looked at the other man, a look of bewilderment and worry on his face.

"Severus...his mother has been dead since our sixth year." Sirius told his husband.

Severus's eyes widened. His expression turned to a scowl.

"Do you think Dumbledore had anything to do with it." asked Sirius with worry.

"I don't know but if I had to guess I would say so. Truth be told I avoided Remus after you escaped from the tower in fear it would raise suspicion from the Headmaster. The last time I saw him, he was packing and looked worried." replied Severus.

"Is there anything we can do?" whispered Sirius.

"The only thing we can do is wait and listen. We don't want to go looking for him only to lead trouble to him." Severus answered. He felt a bit foolish. He had noticed something off when he talked to the werewolf but had passed it off as grief for his mother. Severus shook his head.

A few hours latter found Harry entering the kitchen for dinner.

"Ron and Hermione say hello!" exclaimed Harry.

Sirius grinned "all that worry for nothing."

Harry stuck out his tongue.

"They want to know when either I could visit them or they could come visit." said Harry.

Sirius and Severus looked at one another. Harry watched them. They seemed to be having a conversation without words. It was something he had seen Mr. and Mrs. Weasley do. It was kinda cool but scary at the same time. They turned back to face Harry.

"They can come visit if they wish but only once we get moved into Grimmauld Place." replied Severus. Harry beamed at him.

"When are we moving?" asked Harry.

"Oh! That's what I was going to tell you earlier when we were talking! We can start moving things in tomorrow but the second floor, where the bedrooms are, will not be done until the next day. So we should be done moving in the night after tomorrow!" answered Sirius brightly.

"So how soon do I demand them to come visit me?" asked Harry grinning.

"Oh I don't know, about a week from now?" said Sirius looked at Severus.

"Who would be coming?" asked Severus.

Harry shrugged "Hermione, Ron, maybe Ginny and the twins."

Severus rubbed his forehead. "They can come if they promise to not break anything or cause any unpleasant surprises during or after their visit."

Harry smiled widely, knowing he meant pranks when he said unpleasant surprises.

"I'll let them know."

After dinner Harry rushed upstairs and picked the letters he had received from his friends. He decided to write them back.

_Ron,_

_I know right? It was a lot to take in. They seem to be happy though. Severus told me they have been married for seventeen years! _

_Tell your mum not to worry, I'm just fine._

_So far they have been great to me. Severus still is snarky and sarcastic but nice if that makes any sense. Sirius is affectionate and always smiling so no worries there. I don't think they are going to intentionally be bad to me but I'll let you know if that changes.  
_

_As far as visiting, they gave permission for you, Hermione, Ginny and the twins if they want to come visit in about a week since we will be moving into Grimmauld Place tomorrow and the next day. Also Severus said that everyone had to promise not to break anything or prank anyone while they are here or after. They didn't say when I can visit but when I do I will remember to watch out for the twins. I love your brothers but they can come up with the nastiest pranks. _

_Tell them all hi for me and send your mum my love and Sirius said hi back,_

_Harry_

Harry moved onto Hermione's letter.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I'm glad you seem to be doing fine. Thank you and yes I have talked to Severus about it. I'll explain it to you when we get together sometime. _

_It would be fun to go out and do thing! I've never been to a museum but I'm sure I would like it. I've never been to a movie theater either but I know what they are. I will have to ask them if they have been. I think Sirius would love it. Not sure about Severus. I guess it would depend on what film was playing. Ron's face would be worth going! I think it is something we will have to do at some point even if we don't get around to do it this summer. _

_Hermione, I have never been able to call a couple adorable before but I would have to say that they are. I found Sirius asleep in Severus's lap a few days ago. Yesterday I saw them doing this slow dance thing in the kitchen. I don't think they saw me cause I snuck away. They don't tend to so those things in front of people so they are not sappy or gushy or anything. As girly as it makes me sound, they are cute. Every once in awhile Severus actually smiles. It's never big or anything and it only happens when he thinks no one is looking. They also do that silent talking thing that Ron's parents do. You will have to come over and see. _

_Oh! They said you can come visit in about a week. We will be at Grimmauld Place. It's almost done. Evidently it needed fixed. Ron, Ginny and the twins are invited over too. _

_I don't know much about carriers. I don't see why Sirius wouldn't talk to you about it. _

_I can't wait to see you either and they said hi back,_

_Harry_

Harry finished the letters and gave them to Hedwig who set off again. She seemed to enjoy the fact she was delivering more letters so far this summer.

The next day found Harry standing in front of number 11 and 13 of Grimmauld Place looking utterly confused. He looked up at Sirius.

"Where is the house?" he asked the grey eyed man.

"It's under fidelius charm Harry. Watch." His godfather grabbed his arm and began to walk them forward. As they walked Harry watched a house grow out of the place between number 11 and 13. Harry felt a grin spread across his face.

"Wicked!"

Sirius smirked at his godson and lead Harry and Severus into the house.

Harry looked around once inside. It was old, intricate, the wood dark in color but the wallpaper looked new and added some blues, greens, light greys and white that brightened up the hallway along with the lighting, which also looked new. The winding staircase at the end dominated that part of the hallway along with an old but well kept looking window. The stair was the same dark wood as the rest of the woodwork and doors in the hallway. The window was framed with a set of new medium blue curtains with silver cords.

Harry turned when he heard Severus talk.

"Much better."

"What was it like before?" asked Harry.

Sirius answered "After I went to Azkaban, my father and brother died leaving my mother alone in this house. In her heartache she let the house go and eventually left it I was told. It slowly started to fall apart and the magic in it twisted. It was very dangerous to enter when I visited a few months ago. A total wreck. I've been having the house elves and a few workers fix it up, redecorate it. I had them put in lighter colors. Makes the house seem happier. The magic seems a lot happier too. We'll have to adjust the wards."

This information saddened Harry. He hadn't really thought about what all had changed for his godfather while he had been in Azkaban.

"Anyway, up the stairs there is a second and third floor, which holds all the bedrooms and spare rooms along with some bathrooms and the master suite. Those are not done yet. They are still being redecorated and the lighting fixed but everything else is done up there. Beside the staircase there is also a stairs heading down that leads to the kitchen, dining room and potions lab. Those are all done and have been restocked and refurbished if needed. To the left is the living room and a grand sitting room with an office. To the right is the library and a small sitting room and another office area. There are a variety of cabinets and closets everywhere. Outside there should still be a small greenhouse. My mother raised roses, cobra lilies, sage and vervain. There should also be a shed where I use to keep my quidditch things and my motorbike. I haven't checked the backyard but there should be the spot where we use to hold outdoor balls every summer too." explained Sirius as he showed Harry around the first floor.

They found themselves in the library when Sirius was done explaining the layout of the house. Harry spotted an odd tapestry on the far wall. He walked up to it to realize it was a family tree. Harry studied it a moment. To his surprise he found his name on it.

"Sirius, my name is in your family tree!" exclaimed Harry.

Sirius walked over to Harry. "Yup, your grandmother was a Black. She was my grandfather's sister." he explained to his godson. "Also if you look here" He pointed to the name Orion Black and traced it over to a Lucretia Black "You will find I am related to Ron as well. My father's sister is his grandmother. Molly is my first cousin."

"I wonder if Ron knows." replied Harry with a grin. "His face would be priceless."

Sirius looked at the tapestry some more. He noticed a strange symbol by Weleburga Black's name.

"Hey Sirius, what is this symbol?" Harry asked. Sirius leaned forward to see it better.

"That would show elemental in the bloodline. There is one by my name too." replied Sirius. Harry blinked.

"What?"

"My mother was sort of a bastard child. My grandmother was a shadow elemental. My grandfather's wife was not happy about it. Oddly enough a lot of purebloods think the elemental blood make the bloodlines purer. Society in general today looks down upon it nowadays. Afraid it makes you evil or something. Anyway, it makes me a shadow wizard. I actually have shadow elemental traits. Take my animagus form for example. It also automatically makes my magic dark affiliated. I have a hard time with the lighter magics and healing spells. There is actually a branch of magic called elemental magic that is not used much anymore that those with elemental blood usually take to pretty well. Your mum was wonderful with fire magics. She was a fire witch you know."

Harry was baffled. He had no idea about any of this.

"How did my mother end up a fire witch?" Harry asked.

"It was either her father or her grandfather on her father's side, I don't remember which. But it most likely makes you a fire wizard. You'll find out during your magical maturity."

"So elementals can produce magical children with humans?" Harry asked.

"No, there already has to be magic in the blood somewhere." replied Sirius who suddenly looked at Harry rather than at the tapestry.

"Then where did she get the magic if her family were all muggles?" asked Harry who was pretty sure Sirius was asking the same question.

"It never occurred to me to ask...Severus would you know anything?" Sirius asked turning to the other man.

Severus thought a moment, "I do not know but I may be able to brew a potion that can answer the question for us." he answered.

"Well seems we all have something interesting in our family history." Replied Sirius.

"What does Severus have?" Harry wondered allowed.

Severus looked at Harry. "You sure you want to know?" he asked the teen.

Harry hesitated but nodded.

"Tom Riddle is my biological father." Severus said.

Harry's mouth fell open. "How..."

"I found out right after I went through my magical maturity. I took on some abilities and traits that made my grandfather question my lineage. We brewed a paternity potion. Tom's name came up. Evidently he and my mother had been together but broke up when he started to fear for her life. She married Tobias Snape soon after to keep me safe. I talked to Tom about it. It was then he told me Dumbledore had started getting violent and blaming it on him. I wasn't sure I believed him until it was too late." answered Severus.

~somewhere near a woods

Fenrir Grayback sat by the bandaged werewolf that he had found battered and torn in the woods the week before. To say he was worried was an understatement. This werewolf was not only in bad shape but looks like had not been in good health for quite some time. Fenrir wished he know what he could do for the stranger. He couldn't even be sure of the werewolf's sent due to the all the blood when he found him covered in and then all the salves he had put on him to get him to heal. He had no idea where he was from, who he was or even if he should have helped him or not. All he knew is that he had this strong feeling that he needed to help the wounded werewolf. When he had first found him he had needed to get him back to the village but was not sure if it was safer to move him now or see if he would get better.

In the end he had brought the hurt man back with him for better care but he had yet to get any better. In fact he had broken out into a fever. To be truthful he seemed to be losing ground in healing. He sighed. There was only one thing left he could do about it. He had to go to the elder of his pack. He sensed his pack's uneasiness. He was not sure if they were uneasy about his stress over the wounded man or the presence of the wounded man in general. He knew they trusted his judgment and would not question him.

He picked up the wounded man with care, wrapped him in a warm blanket and took him to the elder's house. A group of children and teens from his pack were out playing, the cubs and delta ranks of his pack. He smiled at their antics. His pack seemed to have picked up all the orphaned werewolves from the packs killed during the war with Voldermort as well as some more since then. He often worried about his pack. In comparison to some packs it was large but being made up mostly of the age groups that were playing, protecting his pack worried him. There were few adults and even fewer elderly. In fact their pack was down to one elder. His beta major and beta miner, a mated couple, were young themselves, barely in their twenties. Leaving his gammas being the three other adults and a few older teens.

He frowned as he reached the elder's home, all the homes being close together hidden in a deep wood with strong wards around the homes to avoid conflict as much as possible. There were some days he thought he was the wrong one to be alpha of his pack but the elder had insisted that was one of the strong qualities that made him the right person.

Walking into the house he found the elder feeding an orphan cub. The elder housed some of the orphans while the betas and gammas looked after the rest.

"How is our mystery wolf today Fenrir?"came the dusty voice of the old woman rocking in an old carved wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room. It sat between an old French window and a fire stove. She hummed a lullaby to the small child who was wrapped in a weathered quilt, drinking from a bottle as they rocked slowly back and forth. Fenrir attempted a smile for the old woman but it came out a frown.

"That bad. Hmm...lay him on the table right there, gentle like, and I will have a look at him." The old woman told him getting out of her chair slowly. Fenrir finished lying the man down on the table and turned to the elder.

"He hasn't gotten any better Esmeralda and has caught a fever. I just don't know what to do for him anymore. I've done all that I can think of and the only change has been the fever." Replied the large werewolf frustrated. The old woman handed Fenrir the child she was feeding before walking slowly over to the table. She looked over him carefully and slowly.

"Yes this one has always been troublesome for you hasn't he Fenrir." The old woman said as she took out some herbs and fresh bandages from a cabinet. The alpha wolf looked at the old woman with surprise. She looked back knowingly with a small smile on her face. Fenrir looked down and back at her and nodded.

"Poor thing, not being able to learn to be a true werewolf while those wizards try to do what they think is best for him and all they do is end up making him feel degraded and in pain." The old woman huffed. "If they had just let you bring him when he was turned he would have been better off. Not that I blame his mother, any mother would have wanted to keep their cub but if she had understood I bet she would have done the better thing." The old woman ranted as she applied the medicine and the fresh bandages.

"Have you ever thought about why you have such a strong feeling to save this one, Fenrir? You know, he could be the one you've been waiting for." The old woman spoke softly as she finished the last bandage and looked up at him.

**How will the visit with Ron, Hermione and co go? What all will change when Harry goes into his magical maturity? Who has Fenrir found? (Fenrir is going to be very OC and if that bothers you, I apologize) Input is appreciated! R&R!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN I have been sick so sorry for the longer wait. Longest chapter yet WOOT! I know it's been kinda dragging but it should pick up after the nest two to three chapters. I just wanted to establish feelings, where some characters stand and throw some information in that will effect things in the future. Enjoy the plot twists. This is not betad. All mistakes are my own. WARNING! I am horrid at spelling and I do reread and proofread my work but I still miss some things. Also I own nothing because Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. Some plot twists await in the next few chapters! Enjoy!**

He was currently in his new room, which was massive compared to what he was use to. Evidently it had been Sirius's when he was young. Harry was laying on the large canopy bed. Harry had always thought that canopy beds were a bit girly but this one looked more posh or regal then girly. Severus had tried to spell them off but they refused. Sirius had tried to convince them but to no avail. Harry chuckled remembering the frustration of his guardians over the drapery around his bed. He supposed it was growing on him.

They had let Harry decided on the color scheme, which was greens, browns and creams, which gave the room a very earthy feel to it. He thought it was calming. They told him he could decorate as he wished. Harry did find his bed to be very comfortable. There was a rather large wooden wardrobe with a dresser set that matched the dark brown wood of his bed. A mirror was attached to the main dresser that, to Harry's relief, did not talk. Off to one side there was a desk, tall bookshelf, and a rug on top of the wooden floor. Sirius had told him if he needed more shelving to let him or Severus know.

Harry thought about the last couple days. It had taken until the night they arrived at number 12 Grimmauld Place for all the information to sink in. It had taken until they were all moved in for him to come to terms with it. There was an odd air about the house. It was like it was waiting for the other shoe to fall. Harry wondered if he should say something to get rid of it.

Harry made his way down stairs. He wandered into the library figuring he could find at least one of his guardians in there.

Sure enough he found Severus sitting in one of the chairs reading a book. He looked around and didn't see Sirius.

"Where is Sirius?"

"He is getting ready for his first visit to a mind healer." replied Severus.

"Oh yeah, that's happening today. He's not going to like it is he?" asked Harry a bit worried.

"Probably not." Severus answered with a sigh.

Harry played with the him of his shirt before bringing up why he wanted to talk about.

"I wanted to say that ever since the first night we were here, what we talked about, well everything we've talked about since you got me, really...Well it's weird and it will take a bit to get use to, but it doesn't bother me. Not really." explained Harry awkwardly.

Harry watched the man who's got the tiniest start of a smile on his lips.

"You are incredibly understanding and accepting, you know that right?" Harry was told.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time my world changed drastically all at once. The first time I barely remember. The second time was when I started getting letters from the school and then Hagrid showed up, told me I was a wizard. I found out I was famous for supposedly killing the Dark Lord before I could talk properly. I found out my parents were killed by said Dark Lord and didn't really die in a car crash, that my father wasn't a drunk." replied Harry shrugging.

Severus's knuckles turned white as he clutched the book he had been reading. His eyes turned hard. Harry was afraid for a second. In truth Harry had been trying to help smooth over the issue but it seemed his comments made it worse.

"They told you what?" said Severus in an icy tone. Harry gulped. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up.

"That my parents died in a car crash because my dad was a drunk. They told me thats how I got the scar on my forehead." replied Harry who heard the fear in his own voice.

Harry heard a sputtering sound and turned around to find Sirius standing there.

A murderous look on spread across the grey eyed man's face. Harry blinked.

"Calm down Harry and stay put while I go try to convince Sirius to not go on a murderous rampage." Severus told the boy as he stood up. Harry watched him walk over to Sirius and gently wrap his arms around the man.

"I'm gonna kill them Sev. The bodies won't even be identifiable." growled Sirius who was a ridged as a board.

"While I agree with you, I doubt Aurors will be pleased about it. That and as much as Harry dislikes them I doubt he wants you to kill them. The last place he needs you is in Azkaban." Severus told his husband who was starting to relax.

Severus unwrapped his arms and put his hands on Sirius's shoulders. "Able to walk around in public without murdering people?" he asked. Sirius was scowling but nodded.

Severus put one arm around Sirius's shoulders and turned to Harry. "Come on Harry, might as well get him off to his session and check-up while he is in an agreeable mood."

Harry couldn't help but grin. He was really starting to enjoy the man's sense of humor.

They arrived at St. Mungos via the floo, much to Harry's annoyance. He really hated the floo.

Harry looked around. It was apart of the hospital he hadn't been to. Then again, he had only been here once. He followed his godparents up to a desk. A young brunette witch was sitting at the desk reading a magazine and chewing gum.

It wasn't until Severus cleared his throat before she lazily looked up at them. She then went wide eyed and stammered "How can I help you?"

Severus glared at the girl. Harry almost felt sorry for her. "We are here to see Healer Fear." said the stoic man with a hint of ice in his voice. He was clearly not impressed with the girl.

The brunette pointed to their left. "Third door on the right." she stammered.

The three of them followed her directions and ended up in a small sitting room. There was about six chairs scattered about the room with a few small tables. One had children's toys underneath it, neatly place in a bin, while the others had magazines and some books on them in neat piles. There was a door with a name plate that read "Healer Gwynn Fear".

The three of them were standing looking around the room when the door opened. A woman with tan skin, long flowing almost white hair and big brown eyes greeted them.

"Hello, I'm Healer Fear." she said walking up to the three of them with her hand outstretched.

Severus stepped forward and shook her hand. "I'm Severus Snape. This is my husband, Sirius Black and our godson, Harry Potter." Sirius and Harry took turns shaking the woman's hand who smiled warmly at them.

The healer turned to Severus. "You and your Godson can wait here in the sitting room if you wish. Mr. Black will come with me when he's ready. We will talk and in about an hour the session will be done. Any questions?" she told him clasping her hands in front of her. When she got none she smiled at Sirius and said "Well I will be waiting in my office when you are ready." and turned to walk into her office.

Harry thought her voice sounded like what he imagined chocolate would sound like. That is if chocolate were a sound.

Sirius turned and looked at Severus who gave him a look back and rubbed his hand up and down Sirius's arm. Sirius gave a small smile. Harry hugged the grey eyed man. Sirius's smile wider.

"Thanks pup." he said and walked into the office. Harry and Severus sat down in the sitting room.

Sirius walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Healer Fear was sitting at her desk with a folder open. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Please sit."

Sirius sat down and sat rigidly in his chair. He was not sure if he was going to like this but the healer seemed nice enough.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked him.

Sirius thought about it. Really he was quite agitated but he was better than he had been in a long time.

"I'm alright." Sirius answered.

The healer looked at him. She folded her hands under her chin. "Want to talk about it?"

"That's why I'm here right?" Sirius said somewhat bitter.

"Well, you could be stubborn and not answer questions and not work out your feelings and possibly issues here, you could do that elsewhere, or you could not do that at all. It's up to you really." she replied.

Sirius nodded. "Well, right now I'm agitated. Partially because I don't really want to do this. The other part...is rather complicated."

"Did you want to explain?"

"I have to don't I?"

"Not if you are not ready to." she replied.

Well, that did change what he thought these things were going to go. Sirius seemed at a loss at where to start.

"We don't have to talk about it." the healer said.

"It's not that...I'm not sure where to start." replied Sirius.

"We can talk about something else if you wanted." she suggested.

Sirius nodded. Healer Fear smiled. She looked down at the folder and opened it.

"Now, you and your husband have been married about seventeen years, yes?" she asked. Sirius nodded.

"You two seem to be close." she stated. Sirius nodded again.

"How are you two dealing?" she asked.

Sirius hesitated before answering. "He's been really supportive. The first time we met after I broke out he was rather upset. He asked for an explanation. I gave one the best I could at the time. We've talked loads after that. There were a lot of emotions to deal with at first. We seem to have worked out most of the issues. I feel bad sometimes because he turned cold and bitter after I...but he seems to be getting better. He's been really good to Harry since we've got him." answered Sirius.

"And you two have had Harry about a week and a half. How is he handling everything?" the healer asked next.

"Really well actually. I expected an explosion of emotion. Maybe it will happen yet. He was really accepting of me once I explained what happened to him since day one. He seems to be reacting well to Severus too." Sirius smiled.

"Did you feel up to talking about Azkaban?" the healer asked.

Sirius hesitated. "I'm not sure..."

"We can take it slow and if you become too uncomfortable we can stop." said the blonde woman.

Sirius chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing, it just..It was starting to sound like the conversation I had when I lost my virginity." replied Sirius trying to hold back more chuckles. He noted the healer was now having the same problem.

"Well both can be rather uncomfortable." she replied with a grin.

"Yes they can." replied Sirius shooting her a grin. She lost her battle and broke out into laughter.

Sirius chuckled. He decided he liked this woman.

Severus was sitting reading a book while waiting for Sirius. Harry was sitting in a chair next to his reading as well. About forty five minutes into the session Severus heard the door from the hallway open. He looked up to watch two small girls enter the room. He heard a voice come from the open doorway.

"You two better behave." said the voice. The two girls nodded in unison.

"What did you want to drink?" asked the voice. The two girls went into a moment of thought.

"White grape." replied one.

"Apple." said the other.

"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes." replied the voice and the door closed. It wasn't a voice Severus had heard before. It was deep but not quite baritone with a smoothness to the voice.

Severus looked at the two girls. They appeared to be identical twins with pale sandy blond hair and dark brown eyes. They looked at each other, grinned and quietly walked to the toy box.

Severus raised an eyebrow. He watched the two find a bag of large blocks. They emptied the bag and started placing blocks on top of each other. He watched them hold a silent conversation with looks and gestures about what they were building. It seemed they were trying to see how tall they could get the construct without it toppling over. It got higher and higher before wobbling. He heard Harry take in a breath before the whole thing toppled down. Evidently he wasn't the only one amused by the young girls.

One of the blocks landed by Severus's foot. The girls started picking up the blocks. The next thing Severus knew there were two pairs of chocolate brown eyes looking up at him from the floor where the block had landed. The two girls smiled up at him.

"I'm Eirwen." said the girl to the left who had a yellow headband and a brown dress.

"I'm Eiriol." said the other who had a brown headband and a yellow dress.

"I'm Severus Snape." replied the dark eyed man. The girls grinned and turned to Harry.

Harry chuckled and replied "My name's Harry Potter."

The two girls smiled.

"Are you waiting on someone?" asked the girl whom Severus believed was named Eiriol.

"Yes, my husband is a new patient for Healer Fear." he told the two.

The two girls turned toward each other and nodded before looking at the two again. "Momma said she had a new patient." remarked Eirwen.

"Did you say your last name was Snape?" asked Eiriol.

"I did." answered Severus wondering where this was going.

"Our brother Fin said one of his professors was named Snape." commented Eirwen.

Severus thought. "I don't recall a student named Fin." he told the two.

"Oh, his name is Gryffin. Gryffin Fear. Just like daddy." replied Eiriol.

"I believe I remember a Gryffin Fear. A Ravenclaw. Going to be a fourth year if I remember right." said Severus. These two seemed rather intelligent for their age.

They smiled again and shared what Severus hoped but doubted was merely excited looks. It was then the door opened again. They all looked to see a man walk in with some drinks. He was tall with a strong jaw, long pale sandy blond hair, with an unusual yellow color of eyes. He was wearing tan pants, matching vest, white button up shirt under the vest, brown leather boots, and a brown robe that was clasp around his neck and left open with the sleeves being unused.

"Daddy!" the two girls yelled running up to him.

"I hope my girls were on their best behavior." he told the two, holding the drinks out of their reach.

"Yup!" they both answered.

"Lying to me on a wednesday." the man muttered causing the twins to break out into protests. The man chuckled.

"Here's your juice." he said handing the juice to the girls. They happily took their drinks and sat in a chair together to drink them. The man turned to Severus.

"I'm sorry if they were bothering you." The man apologized.

"They were not bothering Mr. Fear, they were actually quite entertaining." assured Severus.

It was then that the door opened and Sirius walked thru. Severus was relieved to see his husband a lot more relaxed than when he went in.

Sirius walked up to Severus, Harry and Mr. Fear.

"How did it go?" asked Harry. Severus watched his husband for an answer.

Sirius nodded. "It went well, I think." he replied. A small smile spread on his face. "Well, shall we take off? I still have a check up and we have a dinner party tonight." said Sirius.

By the end of the visit, both the mind healer and the checkup healer had said Sirius was recovering well.

Right now Harry found himself getting ready for dinner with the Malfoys. He looked around his wardrobe. He doubted he needed a formal dress robe. He also doubted something casual would be acceptable. But what on earth was considered in the middle? Harry shrugged and picked out a green robe that matched his eyes with black pants and shirt. He changed and looked himself over in the mirror that was inside one of the doors of his wardrobe. He tried flattening his hair but gave up. He looked himself over once more. It would have to do.

Harry made it to a sitting room to find his guardians waiting for him. Severus was in his trademark black robes that Harry thought he must have a dozen sets of if not more, and Sirius was in dark blue robes.

"There you are! And don't you look dashing!" Sirius commented upon seeing him.

"Supporting Slytherin today?" asked Severus. Harry looked at the man. Was he _teasing_ him?

Harry's surprise was answered by a chuckle and a smirk from Severus.

"What?" asked Harry confused.

"Ignore him Harry, he finds odd things amusing." said Sirius who also chuckled.

They were teasing him. Harry mock glared at the two which only resulted in more chuckles.

Just then the floo activated. Out of the fireplace stepped Lucius Malfoy followed by his wife and son.

"Sirius!" Narcissa exclaimed and hurriedly threw her arms around her cousin. "How are you? I heard you had your first session."

Sirius hugged her back. "It went well I think. She said I was doing a good job at being open about things. Said not to feel bad if some things are harder to talk about than others."

Narcissa let Sirius go and looked at him. She smiled and asked "Which healer is it?"

"Gwynn Fear." answered Sirius.

"Oh I've hear a lot of good things about her!" Narcissa turned to her husband who was being greeted by Severus. "Darling, wasn't she was the one who helped out the Lovegoods when poor died so unexpectedly?" Lucius looked at his wife and nodded.

"Yes. If I remember right their daughter saw it. She was nine at the time." Mr. Malfoy told his wife.

"Lovegood? As in Luna Lovegood?" asked Draco. It was the first time Harry had heard him talk today. He sounded a bit taken back.

"Yes, that was her name. Poor girl. From what I understand she is having a ruff time socially because of it."

"Yes, she is very..." Draco began to say but saw his father's raised eyebrow. "unique." The blonde boy got a look from both parents as if to say that better have been what he had intended to say.

"If your mother or I hear that you have bullied her in anyway you will regret it Draco. Infact I will dissapointed to hear if you did not stand up for her if you had the chance." said Lucius Malfoy with a stern look.

"But I didn't know..."Draco stopped his sentence when he saw his mothers look. He turned to Harry. "Did you know?"

Harry was unprepared to be pulled into the conversation. "To tell the truth I haven't heard of her. I was kinda busy every year and I ran from gossip like it was the plague." replied Harry a little sheepish.

"Really Potter? You've never heard anything about a strange girl a year below us?" Draco asked with a sneer.

"Well second year I was kinda busy with a giant snake and last year..." Harry looked over to Sirius.

Sirius decided to change the topic. "You know, I did use to babysit the two of you when you were babies. Sometimes together." said Sirius.

"What." said Draco.

"Yeah, and the two of you actually got along great." replied Sirius. The two boys looked at him like he had lobsters coming out his ears. Sirius chuckled and turned to Severus. "I take it they are what, archrivals or something?"

"They get along about as well as a house and fire do." replied Severus.

"What's the matter Harry, he too arrogant for you?" said Sirius teasing the boys. Draco shot Sirius a glare and Harry sent a glance to Draco.

"Sort of." replied Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy and Severus seemed to be content watching the interaction.

"Don't let it get to you pup, most, if not all, purebloods are arrogant. Particularly when they are young." commented the gray eyed man.

"What about you?" asked Harry

"Me too, especially when I was your age. You probably wouldn't have liked me too much. I was a git." replied Sirius.

"He was an ass." interjected Severus. Sirius gave him a smile. "A vain ass." Severus corrected. Sirius laughed.

"What is with all the foul language! None of that!" insisted Narcissa covering her ears.

"Now, now Cissa, we all know what kind of mouth you had in school." bantered Sirius with a grin.

"Sirius Orion Black! Do not tell such lies in front of my son!" by this time the whole group was laughing.

"Did mother really have a foul mouth father?" Draco asked amused.

"Only when she was mad." he replied grinning at his son.

"You are banished to the couch tonight!" declared the blond woman to her husband before huffing and leaving toward the dining room.

"I'm sorry Lucius, I didn't mean to get you put into the doghouse." apologized Sirius.

"Oh don't worry, I won't be for long." replied the blond man with a smirk.

"Oh, ewwww! There are young people in the room you know!" Draco exclaimed, putting his hands over his ears. Harry made a face. The others laughed.

"Harry, take Draco here and find something fun to do while dinner is being finished." Severus told him.

Harry gave an uncertain look toward his guardian and shot as big a glare as he dared to Draco.

"Come on." Harry said, leading Draco to the backyard.

Once outside Harry was really at a loss at what to do with Draco. The greenhouse was unfit due to being overran with cobra lilies. The shed had not been looked in and Harry was not going to be the first one to wonder in there in Merlin knows how many years.

"So what now Potter." asked Draco with a sneer.

Harry glared at the boy. "Really? You can't just be civil?" asked Harry.

Draco scowled and looked away.

"What? Mommy and Daddy tell you to play nice Malfoy?" asked Harry.

"Shut it Potter!" replied Draco.

"Why Malfoy? You never gave me a break at school?" pushed Harry.

"Like you are all innocent in that category Potter!" declared Draco.

"At least I don't walk around and act like a total prat all the time!" yelled Harry.

"You have no idea what you are talking about Potter!" yelled Draco.

"Then tell me about it." demanded Harry.

"Forget it Potter!"

"Tell me something Malfoy, did you learn to be a total git, or does it run in the family?" asked Harry.

"That's it Potter!" Draco leapt for Harry.

The two rolled around on the ground, kicking and punching at one another.

At one point Harry lost his glasses. He was pretty sure he hit Draco in the mouth and he was pretty sure he was going to get a bruise on his face. They managed to break apart after a few moments and stand up.

The two backed away from one another, glaring at the other. Harry sighed. He was so done with this stupid rivalry. To Harry's surprise it was Draco who spoke first.

"Potter, look, I'm tired of all the fighting. I'm sorry for the stupid crap I've done and said to you ok." Draco apologized with some exasperation in his voice.

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry too."

Draco nodded back. The silence became awkward.

"Could you explain it to me?" asked Harry.

Draco gave him an odd look "Explain what?"

"What it was that you said I wouldn't understand." answered Harry.

Draco sighed.

"I never wanted to treat you that way Potter. My father told me to. I argued with him at first but...he told me there was more to it then I would be able to understand. When I offered you my friendship I was actually going against my father's wishes. When you turned it down it just became easy to comply with them. After you started getting snotty back it was easy to go along with."

"Why did he want you to treat me bad?" asked Harry.

"He didn't say to treat you badly, just to not be friendly with you. Treat you with the stereotyped Slytherin attitude." explained Draco

"But why?" Harry wanted to know if his hunch was right.

"He didn't fully said but I think it has something to do with Dumbledore." said Draco.

A few minutes latter found the adults in the dining room awaiting the two boys. A moment later found the two walking in, chatting together. There was a bruise forming on Harry's cheek and Draco had a split lip.

Narcissa gasped. "What happened?"

Draco looked at his mother "I don't know what you're talking about." Narcissa looked at Harry. Harry answered with "Nothing happened." Narcissa looked at Lucius who smirked "I don't see anything wrong." She then looked at Sirius and Severus who seemed unphased.

The blond woman glared at the room. Severus told the boys to go ahead and sit down.

Everyone was seated and dinner was served. Narcissa seemed a bit miffed. The three men chatted while they ate. About five minutes into the dinner Draco and Harry shot each other a look and started snickering.

"I'll never understand boys and becoming frineds over fistfights." declaired Narcissa Malfoy and the whole room erupted into laughter.

The next morning found Harry excited and nervous. He was sitting in a chair in the sitting room near the library. Sirius and Severus were busy outside trying to help the house elves straighten out the mess in the greenhouse. Evidently Sirius's mother's cobra lily's had taken over everything else in the building and were wreaking havoc on the poor houselves who tried to put it in order.

His friends were coming to spend the day. He couldn't wait to see them but was nervous with how they were going to react or think or already thought about everything. He knew Ron and Hermione had said they were fine about it but...

Just then the fire in the fireplace turned green. Harry stood up and took a couple steps toward the fire.

Out stumbled Ron. A grin spread across his face as he spotted Harry and move out from in front of the fireplace. He ran up to his friend and gave him a big hug. Harry laughed.

"Harry!" came the sound of Hermione's voice and the two were joined by the girl to create a group hug.

"Hey now!" came the sound of one of the Weasley twins.

"Don't leave us out!" was heard from the other as they joined in the hug.

"Very rude!" the first declared.

"Rude indeed!" the second agreed.

"You two are impossible." came Ginny's voice. The group turned to look at her.

"Ginny, join in the love hug or go away." said Ron in good humor.

"Ronald!" scolded one of the twins. Harry thought it was George.

"Don't be so mean!" said Fred.

"Very!"

"Rude!"

Ginny just laughed and joined the hug. They all started laughing.

Harry wasn't sure who it was but someone lost their balance and the group ended up a tangled mess on the floor.

That was the moment Severus decided to walk in.

"Harry, have they..." He stopped and gave the group and odd look before glaring at them. The group untangled themselves. Harry swore he muttered something about touchy feely teenagers.

"Now that you all have arrived, I have some requests. First, you have access to any of the rooms on this level except the offices, as well as the yard except for the greenhouse, it is being cleared out at the moment and can still be dangerous. As far as the other floors, the dining room and, if he wishes it, Harry's rooms are accessible. Please don't go exploring, the house was just redone so all the interesting sites have been stored at Gringotts, so don't go looking fo them. Also, Sirius and I's bedroom or the potion's lab are forbidden unless under the most dire of circumstances. If you need something and one of us are in the room, please knock or call. Second, I don't want to have to take someone to St. Mungos today so please do not do anything to cause this to occur. Thirdly, please don't terrorize the house elves. Ours have been known to terrorize back." The teens all nodded as Severus explained to them the dos and don'ts for their visit. "I would like to remind you of the don't break anything or pranks rules that you are already aware of. If you want to be destructive, do that elsewhere please. If there are any issues please let Sirius, a house elf, or I know. " Severus paused and looked at the teens who were still nodding. He eyed each teen, especially the twins. Harry could tell he thought at least one of them were going to not follow the rules, whether it be by accident or intentional.

"Those seem fair." replied Hermione.

Severus held up his hand to stop any further remarks. "I have more." Severus took a breath. "You can do as you wish on your own but I will warn you right now, that if I found out that any funny business goes on between any of you then that will end. Against my better judgement, all of you have my trust with this for the moment. Do not lose it." He shot them all a warning glare and they answered with nods and 'Yes sir!'s.

Severus nodded. "I am going back out to the greenhouse. Sirius and I will be out there if anyone needs us. A house elf will announce when lunch is ready." with that Severus turned and left the room. Harry chuckled.

"He seems to be doing well." Hermione was the first to speak.

"Really Hermione." said Ginny.

"What?" asked the bushy haired girl.

"We get the do's and don'ts and you comment on how he seems to be doing." said Ron.

"So?" asked Hermione.

The two red heads shook their heads at her.

Hermione scowled and looked at Harry who chuckled.

"Don't worry about them Hermione, they don't realize that his speech was really him saying 'Be careful, I trust you, and have fun'." said Harry.

"Harry!"

"You have learned!"

"To understand"

"Slytherin talk!" the twins declaired, clutching their hearts dramatically.

Harry grinned. "Sirius taught me." Everyone laughed.

"So how are you handling Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry shrugged.

"It's a lot to take in. I suppose if I wasn't here to interact with Sirius and Severus then I would have a hard time believe a lot of it. Everything I've learned has supported everything they've said since day one. That reminds me, you won't believe some of the things I've learned! Follow me to my room and I'll tell you" Harry quickly led them to his room. Everyone arranged themselves on his bed with Harry in the middle. He told them about what he had learned about Tom Riddle, Elementals, Sirius's recovery, Draco, Luna Lovegood, and how Sirius and Severus got together.

After lunch found everyone in the library. They had convinced Severus to participate in a chess tournament much to every teens surprise and Sirius's amusement. They tried to get Sirius to join but he turned them down saying he wanted to finish a book he was reading, who took shelter on a chair almost directly left of the fireplace.

Two hours later the tournament was down to Severus and Ron. Harry had lost his first round to Ron. Harry knew he was not as good as his friend but wondered how he would have stood up to the rest.

Everyone was watching the tense match enthusiastically. Harry was completely lost on who was winning. He had watched the two plan and carefully move chess pieces across the board for the last thirty minutes. He was able to call a few of Rons moves because he had played him so often but Severus's strategy was different then Rons. Ron would divide and conquer while Severus would draw out with sacrifices and distractions before going in for the kill.

Severus had just pulled a rook out into a position where Ron could easily take it with a bishop but if he did then Severus's knight could get the bishop. Would Ron take the bait? Everyone was holding their breath.

It was then Harry noticed a slight tremor. He looked up and noticed the walls and floors had begun to shake. Everyone was alarmed. Just then the fireplace turned a familiar shade of green.

That wasn't right, Harry thought to himself, the library's fireplace was not hooked up to any floo.

Severus shot up and pulled out his wand.

And then from the green flames stepped a tall woman with long black hair in loose curls and pale skin. Her dark grey eyes matched her dark grey robes that brushed the floor as she stepped forward.

**Who is this new person? Will she try to harm them or is she friendly? Will Harry and Draco become friends or will they just be civil? Input and comments welcome! R&R!**


	11. Chapter 11

******~ Hi everyone! First thing I want to say is that I have revised the first few chapters. Chapter one has been fixed up a bit, chapter 2-4 is now chapter 2 (meaning the rest of the chapters have been renumbered). The new chapter 3 (was 5) has been fixed up too. I would be tickled if you reread those if you haven't. If you don't that's cool to. Also, I finally got over being sick. Those things plus thanksgiving are the reason for the longer wait for this chapter. My chapters are turning out longer then before so there will probably be a longer wait for them. So what do you think so far? Please let me know if there are any suggestions, let me know. I do not own Harry Potter. This has not been betaed. All mistakes are my fault. WARNING! I am horrid at spelling so I apologize for that. Enjoy!**

The woman blinked and frowned.

"Severus! Put that down!" the woman scolded.

Harry could have sworn the man almost rolled his eyes before Severus put the wand down and pinched his nose.

"I should have known you'd show up like this." he muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. Harry was confused. Who is this lady?

She looked around at everyone. "I thought you only took in one monster?" she joked turning to Severus.

"Mother?!" everyone turned to look at Sirius.

"Sirius!"

The new arrival rushed over to Sirius and threw her arms around him. The woman took in a breath and smiled. She pulled back and held Sirius at arm length. Everyone held their breath as she carefully looked him up and down.

"Your husband held me at wand point." The woman told Sirius amused.

"Mum you can't just waltz in through an unconnected fireplace and expect not to get held at wand point. How did you do that anyway?" Sirius told the woman in a scolding manner.

"It's the one I always went through before. When it wanted to give me fits, I told it to let me through or there was going to be a special place in hell for it." the woman replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry leaned toward Severus and whispered "That's Sirius's mum?"

"Can't you tell? He has her logic." Severus told Harry like it explained everything.

Severus scowled at the two almost identical grins from Sirius and Walburga.

The teens broke into laughter.

Walburga looked around again. "So do I have six grandkids now?" she asked Sirius.

"Oh no, just the dark haired boy, Harry. You should remember Harry. All the redheads, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny, belong to Molly and Arthur. I don't know if you remember or not but she has seven. These are the youngest four. The brunette, Hermione Granger, is a friend of all of them." Sirius explained as pointed out each teen to his mother.

"Ah, so here is one grandson, three great nephews, and one great niece. There are three older boys if I remember right."

She turned to Hermione, "I don't believe I've heard of the Granger's before."

Hermione seemed to get nervous. "Well, my parents are dentists..."

"Those are like healers for...teeth wasn't it?" asked Walburga.

The bushy haired girl seemed surprised but nodded.

"Are you the only...non muggle in your family?' the woman asked like she was picking her words carefully.

"As far as I know." Hermione almost whispered.

"I've always wondered how that worked. Magic popping up randomly in muggles. Makes me wonder if it is from squibs somewhere in the family background or if magic seeks out those to be born with it. Perhaps those with magical parents are incredibly more likely to be born with it." The dark haired woman mused.

"I have actually wondered the same thing. I have also wondered if Squibs do not lack magic, just lack a functioning magical core. What if the core is just not connected right or parts of it are not compatible causing the magic to negate." Hermione told the woman.

Walburga smiled warmly at her. "You remind me a little of Lily."

"Did you know her well?" It was Harry who asked.

Walburga turned to him.

"I didn't meet her until she was about sixteen. We got along wonderfully. She was so much fun to talk to. Really bright. But Merlin did she have a temper. I was lucky enough to never be on the receiving end of it. I cannot say the same for your father, Sirius or Severus." Walburga told Harry with a smile.

Sirius laughed and Severus scowled.

There was a pause before Ron spoke up, "Hey, what did you mean about great nephews and niece?"

"I'm your great aunt by marriage. Your mother is my niece. Orion, my late husband, and your grandmother were siblings." answered Walburga.

Harry watched the four redhead's faces while she told them. Their faces were priceless. Ron and Ginny were doing a wonderful impression of fish while the twins looked genuinely surprised. A look Harry had never seen on the twin's faces.

"Hello?" a voice called.

"Charlie!" yelled Ginny who ran out of the room.

"I think I remember Charlie." commented Walburga, "Second oldest, loved dragons?"

Ron nodded.

"Mum must have sent him to get us." said Ron with a smile.

"With the way she gets when he comes home..."

"You'd think she loved him more than the rest of us." said the twins pretending to cry into each other's shoulders.

"You don't think..." asked Ron with a taken aback look on his face.

The twins chuckled.

"Don't fear dear brother!"

"She loves all of us!"

"They are only close because Charlie is different."

"It only makes sense." the two tried to reassure their brother who only got even more confused.

"Er...I have no idea what you two are talking about" confessed Ron.

"You mean you don't know!" gasp Fred.

"How could he know? Mum didn't want to make a bid deal." explained George to his twin.

"Right of course! I forgot!" exclaimed Fred.

"Make a big deal of what?" asked Ron who sounded annoyed.

"Should we tell?" George asked turning to his twin.

"It's going to get out one way or another." reasoned Fred.

"I hate it when you guys do this. Just tell me already!" demanded Ron.

"You see, dearest little brother" Ron rolled his eyes at Fred.

"He has the same condition as dear Sirius here." replied George gesturing toward Sirius.

Ron looked at Sirius confused.

"I'm a carrier Ron." came the voice from the other room.

Everyone turned to face the new person. Harry looked at the second eldest Weasley child. He had the trademark red hair that fell to his shoulder blades in a haphazard manner. He had the same blue eye color as Ron. He was short and lean with muscular arms and what looked to be a decent tan.

Ron looked around. "Was I the only one who didn't know?"

"Well the twins and Ginny guessed. I don't think Percy knows." Charlie told his brother.

"Oh good, at least I'm not the last to know!" Ron said relieved, "I hate being the last to know things."

Charlie grinned and looked towards the adults. "Hey aunt Walburga. Sirius, Professor." he nodded to each one.

"Hello Charlie how have you been?" asked Walburga stepping forward to hug him.

"Busy." the dragon tamer told her as he hugged her back.

"I can imagine, working with dragons and all. I hear they are quite temperamental." she commented.

Charlie grinned at her. "Yes, you could call it temperamental."

"How is your brother William doing?" Severus asked the dragon tamer.

"Good from what I hear. He's in Egypt. He's a curse breaker for Gringotts."

"That's a dangerous profession." remarked Sirius.

Charlie shrugged "He loves it and the goblins are fond of him, which mean he's probably rather good at it."

"Seems you Weasley kids have a thing for exciting careers so far." commented Walburga.

Charlie just grinned.

"Percy want to work for the ministry." muttered Ron.

"There is nothing wrong with working for the ministry Ron." scolded Charlie.

"No but would you willingly work for the ministry?" Ron countered.

"No, not really." replied Charlie truthfully.

"We want to create things!" interjected the twins.

"Joke and prank items!" declared Fred.

"Maybe others." responded George.

"Open a shop." said Fred dreamily.

"Help future generations have a good laugh." said George fondly.

"That sort of thing." they chorused together.

Sirius laughed and Severus muttered something Harry didn't catch. Harry grinned at the two.

"What do you want to do Ron?" asked Ginny.

Ron shrugged. "Auror maybe. It's what I wanted to do when I was little. I'm not entirely sure though. You still want to be a professional quidditch player Ginny?"

Ginny nodded enthusiastically. "Then maybe a journalist. You can't play forever and besides, I like to write. What about you Hermione?"

Hermione looked at the younger girl "Well I was thinking getting into law. I would like to help make the world a better place and I don't think I would make a good auror and I don't think I could handle working in . I don't think I would be able to get past the first time I lost a patient." Hermione fretted.

"Don't worry Hermione, you'll do great at whatever you decide to do." Ginny told the girl. Hermione smiled at her.

"Yeah don't sweat it, we aren't even halfway through Hogwarts yet." Ron told her.

"Ok Harry." said Fred. The twins had snuck up to Harry.

"Your turn!" said George as they both put an arm around Harry.

"Well...I haven't really thought about it..." began Harry.

"Isn't there something you've always wanted to do?" asked Ginny.

Harry thought about it. "I don't really know what I want to do for a career. I've just always wanted a big family."

"Awww, how sweet!"

"Our dear Harry wants to be a family man!" the twins gushed.

"Ok you lot, let him be!" said Charlie coming to Harry's rescue, "It's time to go anyway, before or mum sends out a search party or worse, come looking for us herself."

Ron and Ginny grimmanced.

"You use to be cool." complained Fred.

Charlie just held out a bag of floo powder. The twins sighed and took some.

"Spoilsport." George said as they went to exit the room.

"You two will go straight home or I will tell mum you two were the ones to set dad's shed on fire." warned Charlie as everyone followed the two to the fireplace that was connected to the Floo.

The sound of the twins voices could be heard. "That wasn't even us this time!" and "We only did that once!" was two of the sentences Harry heard before they disappeared.

"Ok Ginny, your turn." said Charlie who held the bag in her direction.

Ginny said goodbye to everyone and followed the twins to the Burrow.

Hermione lunged herself at Harry.

"It was wonderful to see you Harry! We should do this again sometime. Don't forget to finish your homework." she reminded her friend.

Harry chuckled and told her goodbye before she too disappeared through the floo.

Ron walked up to Harry, lightly punched him in the arm and gave him a grin.

"It was good seeing you mate. Oh! I almost forgot! Did you want to come to the Quidditch World Cup with us? Dad got some excellent tickets and he has extras." Ron told his friend excitedly.

Harry beamed. "Of course I would, If it's ok with Sirius and Severus."

Harry looked over to his guardians.

"Is that happening here this year?" Sirius asked looking excited.

"Yup! Dad, Charlie, and Bill will be there with all of us. We have a huge tent!" Ron explained enthusiastically.

Sirius looked at Severus. Harry was amused as they did their silent conversation thing they did.

Ron leaned into Harry.

"Every time a couple does that I get creeped out." the redhead told his friend.

Harry laughed.

Sirius and Severus looked back at Harry.

Harry held his breath as anticipation hung in the air.

"He can go." said Severus.

Harry flung himself at his guardians, hugging them and repeating thank yous at them.

"Well, we got to run. Thank you for having my siblings and Hermione over. I hope they weren't too bad." said Charlie smiling at Sirius and Severus.

"They surprisingly were well behaved for a group of teenagers." replied Sirius.

"We'll let you know more details about the world cup when we get them!" yelled Ron before he and Charlie disappeared into green flames.

Harry had not stopped hugging and thanking his guardians.

The rest of the day Harry himself being lead around by Walburga the entire afternoon. She told Harry stories of Sirius, Regulus, Severus, the Malfoys, the Lestranges, the Tonk's and even a few of of his parents. Harry loved it, especially the ones about his parents even if many of these stories had people he either had not met or did not remember.

A few days latter found Harry, Severus, Sirius and Walburga preparing for a picnic lunch outside in the gardens. Harry was helping Walburga pack everything the house elves were bringing to them into a big basket.

The woman had not left since she showed up. No one said anything or even showed signs that her staying was strange. Harry wondered if Sirius and Severus had told her to stay or if she had told them she was going to stay. Either way Harry liked her, everyone seemed happy about the situation and he was glad she was there.

Just as they were putting in the silverware a house elf announced they had visitors.

Severus and Sirius looked at one another surprised and then looked at Walburga. She shook her head to say she didn't know who it was.

Severus walked out of the room and to the door. Harry supposed Severus wanted to be the one to open the door rather than let a house elf in case there was a threat. Harry sometimes thought the man was paranoid. Not that he really blamed him.

Harry heard the door open and some voices filter in. A moment later he saw a woman with some resemblance to Sirius walk into the room.

"Andromeda!" called Walburga once she saw the other woman.

Andromeda smiled and the two women embraced.

"Aunt Walburga! We didn't expect you to be here too!" she replied to the older woman.

Harry then saw a man and a young woman walk in behind her. The man was average height with laidback air and a smile. The young woman looked to be in her early twenties and seemed to be full of energy. She was short with spiky bubblegum pink hair and bright blue eyes. She grinned at Harry and Harry couldn't help but grin back.

"Teddy! How are you?" Walburga said seeing the man and going over to talk to him.

"Andy!" Sirius called joyfully seeing who had arrived.

The woman walked up to Sirius and hugged him.

"How is my cousin?"

Sirius laughed "I'm great."

They stopped hugging and Sirius spotted the girl.

"Dora! I almost didn't recognize you!"

The young woman laughed and gave Sirius a big hug.

"Watcher Siri! It's so good to see you!" her grin widening.

Andromeda turned to Harry and said "This is Harry I take it?"

"Yup. Harry this is my first cousin Andromeda Tonks, her husband Theodore Tonks, and their daughter Nymphadora." Sirius introduced.

"Please call me Teddy." replied the man shaking Harry's hand.

"And call me Dora or Tonks. Preferably Tonks." insisted the girl who also shook Harry's hand.

Harry's jaw dropped as her hair turned the same green as his eyes.

"How?" Harry almost stuttered.

The girl laughed "I'm a metamorphmagus. It's quite useful, especially since I'm sent undercover a lot. I'm an auror. Just got out of my last training this past winter." she told Harry, who was amused as her eyes turned a bright purple.

"Well, since it's lunchtime and we were planning a picnic, you three should join us." invited Sirius.

"Awesome! I don't remember the last time I was on a picnic!" declared Tonks delighted.

"Well, since you insist." replied Andromeda smiling.

"Oh trust me, he does." answered Severus.

Andromeda smiled at him too.

Fifteen minutes later found the six of them sitting in the middle of the rose garden that Walburga had cleaned out just the other morning. Sirius, Severus and Walburga were catching up with Andromeda and Teddy while Harry talked to Tonks.

"So what's it like to be an Auror?" Harry asked Tonks whose hair was back to a bubblegum pink.

"You interested Harry?" she asked the boy with a grin.

"Well I was thinking about it. My friend Ron was thinking about it too." Harry told her.

"Well there are different levels and divisions but each Auror needs the same basic skills. Transfiguration, charms, potions, and defence among some others." She told him.

"There are divisions for those who specialize in certain areas, like charms or working with wards, being a healer etc. Now you don't have to go into a division, but they take extra training if you do want to. Those that don't get put into things like security duty or on missions. There are different levels of Aurors too. Basically like normal muggle cops. New Aurors usually get place under higher ranking Aurors for a period of time."

"So you can do different things as an Auror?" mused Harry.

"Yup. Some people don't stay Aurors for long. Some use it as a stepping stone to get into law, the ministry, politics and sometimes healers. Some become what muggles call detectives. Some make careers out of it. Those that do will often take training in more than one area. I have training in transfiguration and healing. I want to go career. Mum doesn't like the idea."

"No I don't." replied Andromeda.

"Now dear, she is grown. If that's what she wants to do with her life..." Teddy tried to calm his wife.

"I know but I don't have to like it." Andromeda stated, her lips forming a thin line.

"She want's me to find someone nice, settle down, and give her grandbabies." Tonks told Harry rolling her eyes.

"Is it bad for me to want that for my daughter?" defended Andromeda.

"No but I can do that and be an Auror." insisted her daughter.

Andromeda leaned into Walburga "Says the girl who hasn't brought anyone home to meet mom and dad since she was a teenager."

"Mum! I'm only twenty one! And for your information I have dated since school. I was seeing one guy for a good while." protested the young Auror.

"Oh really? What happened?" asked her mother.

"He turned out just like the last two. It's so frustrating! It makes me want to swear off men all together!" replied Tonks who threw her arms up in exasperation.

"So long as you find someone nice." her mother said.

Tonks looked at her mother a bit dumbfounded. "Really?"

"I don't care what gender, race or nationality they are so long as they treat you well and you are happy." her mother informed her.

"You really wouldn't mind if I brought a girl home?" Tonks asked a bit taken back.

"Andy, I think your daughter is having bi tendencies." stage whispered Sirius.

"SIRIUS!" yelled Tonks who quickly took off one of her boots and and threw it at the man.

Sirius caught it, stood up and started running with it, laughing the entire time.

"OI! Give me back my boot!" yelled Tonks who stood up quickly and started chasing Sirius in hopes of retrieving it.

Harry laughed at the two. Severus and Teddy seemed to be ignoring the whole thing while having a conversation.

Harry heard Andromeda sigh and looked over at her.

"I really do just want her to be happy and safe. Grandkids would be a nice added bonus."

Walburga patted her arm.

"Thats what every parent wants Andromeda." Walburga told her.

"I see you finally got a grandchild Walburga." said Andromeda looking at Harry.

"Yes, they brought him home just a couple weeks ago. He seems to have skipped the baby, toddler and child stages and gone straight for the teen stage." replied Walburga.

"Severus, you and Sirius are brave souls." Andromeda teased.

Harry turned beet red at the two witches teasing. Everyone laughed.

"Well, if Sirius decided to finish playing keepaway we should be going. Nymphadora is due back on duty and Teddy has a meeting." said Andromeda standing up.

"Is he still on the committee on Experimental Charms?" Walburga asked.

"Yes he is and I've forbidden him from bringing his work into the house. Last time he did I had to figure out how to get oysters off the bathroom ceiling." replied the younger woman who sent a glare at her husband whose response was to grin at her.

Harry had a feeling that Nymphadora got her personality from her father.

Tonks managed to retrieve her boot and the family said their goodbyes. Sirius made them promise to visit again before he let them leave.

Harry was board. It was raining out, his homework was done and he wasn't in the mood for chess or reading. Which contradicted the fact he was wondering about the library. He was looking about the books. He had found it odd that he had not been told to not get into certain books, like those on really dark topics or had shady or adult content. Then he discovered that those books, or what appeared to be those books judging by the titles and looks of the covers, where on the top levels of the shelves. The shelves themselves towered over him, and there was no way he could get the top shelves even if he wanted to. He wondered if they were also charmed or warded.

He had spent the last hour scouring the book titles for something that sounded even remotely interesting but failed to do so.

It was then he found a sitting area in the back corner of the library with a nice couch, table and a few chairs. It looked couzy.

Harry looked about the area and found a separate shelf that was much smaller than the rest. It had some pictures in what looked like expensive and old picture frames along with some books. One picture Harry recognized as a young Walburga with a tall handsome man that Harry was sure was Orion. There were a few pictures of two small boys that looked to be Sirius and his younger brother. Regulus was his name if Harry remembered correctly. There was another with a blonde woman, a dark haired man and three girls. Must be Narcissa, her sisters and their parents.

Harry carefully picked up one of the books to discover it was a photo album. He opened it to find a picture of what appeared as Walburga and Orion's wedding day. They both seemed really happy. Harry noticed Orion looked significantly older than Walburga, who looked barely old enough to have just graduated Hogwarts.

There were several pictures of the ceremony, relatives dancing, and cutting the cake. The last one of Orion with Walburga in his arms. Harry watched the photograph as Orion pulled Walburga close and she smiled toward the camera like she was smiling at whoever was looking at them. Harry smiled back.

He turned another page to find a picture of a very pregnant Walburga smiling brightly. She couldn't have been that much older then in her wedding picture. Maybe not even a year.

The next several pages were filled with a baby Sirius. Everything from newborn to a toddler. Some of them he was with his mother, a few with his father. One showed him being held by his father while talking to his mother who was once again very pregnant.

Then there were many pages filled with another little boy. Regulus.

Soon the picture were of the two boys getting into all kinds of trouble. There were pictures of birthdays, pictures with cousins and friends. Scattered throughout the pages there were some family portraits that must have been taken throughout the years.

Soon the pictures showed first trips to hogwarts for each Black boy. From there the time between picture became longer but more people showed up in them. People like Remus, Peter and Harry's father began to show up. There was one, to Harry's shock, of a very purple haired Orion chasing a laughing Sirius and James who looked to be about 12. Another of all the Black cousins, at what looked like christmas, passed out on one of the beds asleep. There were some quidditch game pictures.

Harry hadn't known the Blacks had let his father, let alone the other marauders, spend time at Number 12. He had always been told they looked down on "Blood traitors and those of impure blood". But then again he had been told those things by Dumbledore and those close to Dumbledore.

Then Severus started showing up in pictures, along with Lucius, the Lestrange brothers, and his mother. Harry couldn't believe it. Where they all friends at this point?

Harry about fainted when he found a picture of his mother smiling and hugging an equally smiling Walburga.

After a few moments of staring at the picture, Harry finally turned the page. He found it full of what most likely was candid picture of Sirius and Severus kissing or hugging or cuddling together. One looked like they had been reading and accidently fallen asleep together on a couch. Harry wondered if the pictures were Walburga's doing.

Harry turned the page. There was a picture of Sirius and Severus in beautiful dress robes in some gardens. There were more pictures of them dancing, cutting a cake, with family...it was their wedding pictures.

Harry took in a breath. It was all real then. It was all true.

He turned the page. There were some more of family, Sirius's graduation, a handsome man with dark eyes standing with Severus, a variety of photos of people Harry didn't know.

The next few pages had all three black girl's weddings. Regulus's graduation. He even found some of his parent's wedding.

Soon came some of a baby girl with bright blue hair that had to be Nymphadora.

Then there was a picture of a pregnant Sirius sending whoever had taken the picture a dirty look before smiling and rubbing his belly. Harry got confused. Sirius never spoke of a child. What happened to it?

The next couple pages were filled of a small Nymphadora. Then pregnant Narcissa and even pregnant Lily showed up, followed by some picture of what must be a baby Draco and even Harry himself.

Harry turned the page. There were no more pictures. Instead he found the article with Sirius's imprisonment in it along with obituaries. One his parents, one for Orion and the other for Regulus. Harry couldn't bring himself to read any of them.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up to see Sirius giving him a concerned look.

"Harry what's wrong?"

It was then Harry realized he was crying. He let out a sob. Sirius rushed to him and held him in his arms.

Harry cried. He cried for everything. His parents, all the changes, all the new information from the past couple months, for everything he could of had, for everything that had been lost, for Orion, for Regulus, for Walburga, for Sirius, for Severus, ...for himself.

It took Harry a few moments to realize Severus had joined them and had started rubbing small circles on Harry's back.

Harry managed to calm down.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Sirius whispered.

"It just...just everything I guess. There had always been a part of my mind that was waiting for the other shoe to drop you know? That there was a catch, or it was all a big joke or a dream and I would wake up in the cupboard again. It's not that I didn't believe you, cause I did. I guess it just cemented everything. Not just you two being together but everything I've found out about mum and dad and Dumbledore. It's just kinda overwhelming. I'm sorry."

"It's ok Harry. You don't have anything to be sorry for." replied Severus.

Harry took a few deep breaths and calmed down a bit. He then worked up the nerve to ask them a question.

"What happened to the baby?"

"...Baby?" asked Sirius.

Harry turned back a few pages to the picture of a pregnant Sirius.

Harry felt Sirius stiffen for a moment.

There was a tense pause.

Then Sirius let out a sigh.

"We lost her. She would have been a year older than you. She's buried at Prince Manor." Sirius whispered.

"I'm sorry..." Harry began.

"It's fine Harry." Sirius assured him.

"Could...could we go visit?" asked Harry.

There was a small pause. Maybe he was asking too much of them.

"You know," said Severus "It may be time to visit my grandfather."

Severus then stood up and walked out of the library.

"What's he doing?"

"Probably going to firecall the old man." Sirius replied.

**What will Severus' grandfather be like? How will the next school year go? R&R! Input welcome!**


	12. Chapter 12

Hello everyone. I have not dropped my stories. I have been sick on and off since Halloween. I have been working on them, but I will be reworking this one, fixing the plot and figuring out what to do in future chapters in a way that i will not get off track like I fear I may have started to. If there is anything anyone would like to see happen in this story, something they would like changed or any suggestions or any comments please let me know. I will do my best to incorperate them so long my plot stays on track.

I will be posting new chapters soon for Crossing the Line. Feel free to read that if you haven't and to also leave comments there.

Thank you to all my readers and especially my reviewers. It seems everyone who has reviewed likes this story and I am happy.


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